If you needed a reason to start paying attention to the Manhattan DA’s race, The Nation has you covered. In a thoughtful endorsement of Richard Aborn this week, editor Katrina Vandel Heuvel makes the case that progressive reformers of the criminal justice system are on the march nationwide:
Advocates who have fought for decades for criminal justice reform rightly see this moment as one when the stars are aligned for change. At the state level, the fiscal crisis has governors and legislators looking for alternatives to spending $50 billion a year on incarceration. At the federal level, new leadership in the Justice Department is aiming for a smarter approach to public safety, while leaders like Senator Jim Webb have been pushing for a national reconsideration of issues like drug treatment, effective parole policy, education for inmates and re-entry programs.
In New York, we finally achieved reform of the harsh and wasteful Rockefeller drug laws, and the next battle is electing a Manhattan DA that will bring an effective, progressive approach to preventing crime before it happens:
In New York City, where Robert Morgenthau is stepping down as Manhattan district attorney after thirty-four years, the hard-fought race to determine his successor in this high-profile post is providing a unique opportunity for a progressive re-envisioning of our criminal justice system, not only in the city but on a national scale.
Richard Aborn is the candidate who most passionately and boldly describes such an alternative future.
Read the rest of the endorsement here. When you’re done, there’s two big ways you can help Richard Aborn win – volunteering on his campaign between now and the Democratic Primary on Sept. 15, and making a contribution.
