The system isn’t broken - it’s working the way it was designed to protect the wealthy, connected, and white, while disenfranchising communities of color. I’ve represented thousands of New Yorkers in court. My office will always push for expanded access to mental health resources outside of the criminal legal system. As DA, I will ensure that the presumption will be treatment rather than incarceration. I am the only public defender running for Manhattan District Attorney. What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

Racist and xenophobic criminal legal policies in Manhattan, New York State, and the United States at large are fueling racial and economic disparities and perpetuating the over-prosecution and over-incarceration of Black, Brown, and low-income New Yorkers.įor far too long, the Manhattan DA’s office has been used to a rigged criminal legal system that makes New Yorkers less safe and disproportionately impacts low-income communities and communities of color, fueling mass criminalization and a crisis of over-incarceration.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _, and this is what I intend to do about it. As a public defender working on behalf of the very New Yorkers our criminal legal system most harms, I have realized that we can’t change the system unless we change the District Attorney. I’ve also seen the way the system is rigged in favor of the wealthy and powerful. I’ve seen the system that is designed to systematically disenfranchise so many - including our Black, Brown, low-income, disability, and LGBTQIA communities - work exactly as it was intended to. These are people who are being jailed and bullied for low-level minor offenses and dehumanized, and the DA’s office is perpetuating that “lock ‘em up and throw away the key” mentality.

These are people’s moms, dads, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives. Over a decade of working as a public defender and standing side-by-side representing over 3,000 New Yorkers and fighting for human beings charged with crimes in the city, I’ve seen the humanity in each and every person I’ve defended. I have grown more frustrated, heartbroken, and angry with each passing year. When I became a public defender over a decade ago, I saw how our cruel, unjust criminal legal system operated.

Eliza orlins