“The criminal justice system has fallen disproportionately
harshly on poor people and people of color, that’s just a fact,” Creuzot told
the Observer. “The entire system is complicit in this dysfunction. We’re
doing what we can within this office to address some of that.”
Under the new policies, the DA’s office won’t prosecute
people arrested with misdemeanor marijuana possession for the first time;
Creuzot said he’s already dismissed more than 1,000 pot possession cases that
were filed before he took office. After the first offense, Dallas prosecutors
will offer a diversion program — a fine, a class and drug testing — that, if
completed, will lead to dismissal of the criminal charge.
Among other changes, prosecutors will no longer take “trace”
cases involving a minuscule amount of drugs, nor will they accept criminal
trespass charges against someone who is clearly homeless and in need of
services. Creuzot’s letter seeks to reduce the county’s heavy
reliance on cash bail — the subject of an ongoing
federal lawsuit — directing prosecutors to advocate for pretrial
release in many low-level felony and most misdemeanor cases. “Our system of
justice cannot depend on whether individuals can afford to buy their freedom,”
he wrote.
Creuzot’s 5-page memo follows major reforms made by
other so-called progressive
prosecutors, whom advocates are pushing to change the system from the inside
out. Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner set the high bar last year by
refusing to prosecute a wide range of crimes and changing how his office
handles plea deals and sentencing. Last month in Boston, Suffolk County DA
Rachael Rollins issued a 65-page manifesto on “progressive
prosecution” that focused on resolving nonviolent offenses without
jail time.
“The entire system is complicit in this dysfunction.”
The changes in Dallas show how the movement to elect
reformist DAs has evolved in Texas. The new policies go beyond reforms made
during the first term of Harris County DA Kim Ogg, who was among an early wave
of Democratic prosecutors elected in 2016. Ogg has since been criticized for
continuing to seek high bail in misdemeanor cases and now faces a primary challenger
from the left.
David Villalobos with the Texas Organizing Project, which
rallied behind Creuzot and other progressive DA candidates in the midterms,
says the new reforms in Dallas underscore how elections can quickly change
policies on the ground that impact poor and marginalized people. That’s also
exemplified by a Democratic sweep Harris County in the November election
that dramatically
changed the landscape for reform in Houston.
“We need people who can help us move away from an
incarceration-first mentality,” Villalobos said. “These elections, they’ve
given us the foundation for reform.”
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