Ailan Evans
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner blamed the media for allegedly misrepresenting comments made Monday regarding the city’s spike in homicides.
Krasner had told reporters in a press conference Monday that despite a record-high homicide rate, Philadelphians and tourists in the city should feel safe.
“We don’t have a crisis of lawlessness, we don’t have a crisis of crime, we don’t have a crisis of violence,” Krasner said, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. “It’s important that we don’t let this become mushy and bleed into the notion that there is some kind of big spike in crime.”
In a statement issued Thursday, Krasner blamed the media for distorting his message, arguing that his comments had been “edited down” while admitting he may have been “inarticulate.”
“I know that some inarticulate things I said earlier this week have offended people. The message conveyed through media sound bites is not at all what I meant,” Krasner said. “Complete answers based on data aimed at solutions to gun violence will be edited down to sound bites. It’s my job to make sure even those sound bites are careful.”
“Ironically, a week before my inarticulate words, media outlets were covering my tears while talking about shooting victims,” he added.
Krasner received harsh criticism for his comments, notably from former Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter, who excoriated the district attorney in a Tuesday op-ed.
“I’d like to ask Krasner: How many more Black and brown people, and others, would have to be gunned down in our streets daily to meet your definition of a ‘crisis’?’” Nutter wrote. “How many more children and teens have to die in record numbers to capture your attention, and be considered a ‘crisis’?’”
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