AG Clampdown After 120 Killer Concessions

A judge holding a gavel above a wooden block

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court just told Philadelphia’s soft-on-crime district attorney that he can no longer let convicted murderers walk free without a fight — and even some Democrat judges agreed something had to be done.

Story Snapshot

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled on June 16, 2026, that the state attorney general must review cases before Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner can support overturning a conviction.
The court found Krasner’s office had sided with convicted criminals — mostly murderers — at least 120 times since 2018, often without solid legal or factual grounds.
The court said Krasner’s office lied to courts, hid evidence, and skipped required hearings while pushing to undo convictions.
Krasner called the ruling an attack on freedom and democracy, but the court said his office had simply stopped doing its job.

Court Steps In After 120 Concessions to Convicted Killers

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has spent years siding with convicted criminals — including murderers — who asked courts to throw out their convictions. Since 2018, his office agreed to support overturning convictions at least 120 times, mostly in murder cases. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said that pattern was a serious problem. The court ruled his office had made those concessions without proper investigations, solid facts, or honest dealings with judges.

The court’s ruling in the case of Pennsylvania v. Lavar Brown used a rarely invoked power called “King’s Bench” authority. This power lets the state’s highest court step in when lower courts face a serious breakdown in justice. The majority said it had no choice. Krasner’s office had “again and again” made concessions that were “unreliable” and “unsupported by the facts and law.” The court also found his office had misrepresented facts, hidden evidence, and avoided hearings it was required to hold.

What the New Rules Require

Going forward, every time Krasner’s office wants to support a convicted criminal’s request for relief under Pennsylvania’s Post Conviction Relief Act, the state’s Office of the Attorney General must be notified first. The attorney general then gets a chance to step in and fight the case if Krasner won’t. The court said this outside check would “enhance the reliability of the proceedings” and protect the public interest that Krasner had been ignoring.

The court was direct about what Krasner had been doing wrong. “A prosecutor bears the responsibility of a minister of justice and not simply that of an advocate,” the majority wrote. A prosecutor can and should admit mistakes when the facts call for it. But Krasner had gone far beyond that — acting more like a defense attorney for convicted killers than as a prosecutor sworn to serve justice and protect the public.

Krasner Pushes Back, but the Record Speaks Clearly

Krasner responded quickly after the ruling. He claimed the decision hurts freedom, safety, and democracy. He also called a separate but related ruling — one that struck down mandatory life sentences for second-degree murder — “unconstitutional” and warned it could affect more than 500 people currently serving life sentences. Krasner argued that forcing his office to go through the attorney general slows down justice for people who were wrongly convicted.

Two dissenting justices — both Democrats — agreed with Krasner that the majority may have overstepped. They argued that voters in Philadelphia, not the Supreme Court, should decide how their district attorney handles these cases. But even they could not deny the documented pattern of misconduct. The majority’s findings were too specific and too serious to wave away. Krasner’s office had not just made policy choices — it had misled courts and failed to investigate cases before handing convicted murderers a path to freedom.

Why This Matters Beyond Philadelphia

This ruling is bigger than one city or one district attorney. Across the country, left-wing prosecutors backed by outside money have taken office and quietly shifted how the justice system works — not by changing laws, but by simply refusing to enforce them. Krasner’s case shows what happens when that goes too far. Courts, victims’ families, and the public deserve a prosecutor who fights for justice — not one who treats convicted killers as clients.