- Welcome to Independent Lens.
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we're excited to present Philly DA,
an eight-part docuseries
which is part of PBS' Stories for Justice initiative.
Philly DA is the story of Larry Krasner,
Philadelphia's top prosecutor
who defied precedent and won office
based on his progressive promises on the campaign trail.
Most candidates who run for District Attorney
present themselves as tough on crime.
But in 2017, Krasner ran on pledging to lower
incarceration rates in the most incarcerated city in the world.
He not only won; he won in a landslide.
Krasner spent most of his career
as a public defender and civil rights lawyer,
and the last few years representing Black Lives Matter.
As it turns out, Krasner's progressive promises
were not just campaign rhetoric.
In his first week on the job, Larry Krasner
fired 31 attorneys from the DA's office,
vowed not to pursue the death penalty,
promised to stop charging people for possession of marijuana
and put a stop to cash bonds,
saying it's unfair to imprison people
just because they can't afford bail.
Oh yeah, over the course of his career,
he also sued the police 75 times,
the same police he now collaborates with
to build criminal cases.
In a recent interview, this unlikely District Attorney
said that he knew the system was broken
after spending 4 TO 5 days a week in a courtroom for 30 years
and watching incarceration rates skyrocket,
which he equated to a slow motion car crash.
But changing a criminal justice system from the inside
is a monumental task
and thanks to the unparalleled access gained
by filmmakers Ted Passon, Yoni Brook and Nicole Salazar,
the result is monumental television.
Philly DA is just part
of Independent Lens's "Stories for Justice"
and PBS Wisconsin's racial justice programming.
PBS Wisconsin offers viewers
a collection of anti-racism and racial justice content,
including our online series Why Race Matters.
It is our effort here at PBS Wisconsin
to help viewers listen, learn, and inspire change
as we strive for racial justice.
Philly DA starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.