Philadelphia’s progressive-prosecutor campaign continues, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, with District Attorney Larry Krasner’s latest plan: a limit of three years, and a goal to average half that, of parole supervision in all felony cases. For misdemeanors, prosecutors will seek probation or parole terms around six months, not to exceed one year of combined community supervision. Going forward, Krasner said, “Parole should not be longer than the period of incarceration.”
Philadelphia counted 42,000 people on county supervision at the end of 2017, or one in 22 adults. Statewide, Pennsylvanians are under correctional control at the second-highest rate in the nation, behind Georgia, and has the highest rate of parolees. Saying that “mass supervision” causes “tremendous harm, and it costs a fortune,” Krasner said his new initiative is a natural extension of his first year in office, when he rolled out a series of internal policies including shorter sentences, diverting low-level offenses from the justice system, and charging crimes at lower levels.