Chesa Boudin Decriminalized Poverty; Now Dems Want To Recall Him

Across major cities, voters picked reform-minded district attorneys who promised to fight mass incarceration. Now, conservatives in both parties are trying to take them out.

Do you know the name of the district attorney in Sacramento, California? “A career prosecutor with 31 years of law enforcement experience,” her website boasts, Anne Marie Schubert is known for “prosecuting some of the area’s most notorious and dangerous criminals — murderers, rapists and child molesters.”

In 2018, her office helped secure a plea deal and reduced charges in a case of assault and kidnapping. Earlier this year, the man went on to become a suspect in a mass shooting that left six people dead. A former Republican running for California attorney general as an independent, Schubert blamed criminal justice reforms for a decision her office made, and the case has not dogged her tough-on-crime campaign.

Chesa Boudin wearing a gray suit and red tie

What about the name of the chief of the San Francisco Police Department? The infamously expensive city has been the focus of national media for months, as a population priced out of a comfortable life struggles with homelessness, an epidemic of drug addiction, and takes blame from the rich for an uptick in some violent and petty crimes. Fox News plays clips of shoplifting sprees at San Francisco drug stores on loop, yet the police and its chief – who last year solved fewer crimes in every category they track – barely warrant a mention, even though crime fighting is literally their job.