Sessions taking wrong approach on crime, Gonzalez charges
Acting DA says harsher sentences not the answer
U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ get-tough-on-crime stance could wind up backfiring, according to Acting Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, who called new polices outlined by the country’s top law enforcement official draconian.
“While keeping the people of Brooklyn safe is my top priority, I also know that we are never going to incarcerate ourselves to safety and we are never going to change our communities by only putting people in prison. Public safety does not require us to adhere to an outdated and ineffective ‘tough on crime’ approach,” Gonzalez said in a statement issued June 1.
Gonzalez was reacting to a memo Sessions sent to federal prosecutors ordering them to pursue the toughest possible charges against criminal suspects and to seek strict sentences.