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New York County Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg came under fire Monday after reports he has downgraded 52% of felony cases to misdemeanors while crime has continued to rise in the Big Apple since he took office.
Bragg responded to the analysis by calling it a false data comparison, host Jesse Watters reported on "The Five." Co-host Jeanine Pirro, who served three terms as a Republican district attorney in nearby Westchester County, said the figures are embarrassing for any prosecutor.
"I called my former public information officer to find out what [the figures were] that we had when I was the district attorney," she said, adding that the conviction rate in her White Plains-based jurisdiction was 94.8%.
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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
"That's an office where we take crime seriously. We're passionate about it... And 84% of all defendants of those were convicted of the highest count," Pirro added.
She characterized her office mantra as "I'm coming after you and you're not going to get a plea bargain." She further credited her friend and fellow Empire State prosecutor William Fitzpatrick of Onondaga County – which includes Syracuse – as another tough-on-crime official in an otherwise blue state.
"Let me say that calling Alvin Bragg a D.A. is like calling Jeffrey Dahmer a vegan," she added. "This guy doesn't prosecute crime. He forgives crime."
(Dahmer, who was bludgeoned to death in prison by a fellow murderer in 1994, was an infamous Wisconsin serial killer reputed to regularly cannibalize his victims. The infamous case inspired the Netflix series "Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.")
(A scene from "Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.")
On "The Five," Pirro further wondered aloud what the misdemeanor conviction rate of Bragg's reported felony sentence reductions is, questioning how many are dismissed or adjourned in contemplation of dismissal.
"Are they reduced to a violation? We don't know what happens to them," she said.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 09: Jeanine Pirro attends the new All-American Christmas Tree lighting outside News Corporation at Fox Square on December 9, 2021 in New York City. The original 50-foot tree displayed on FOX Square in Midtown Manhattan was allegedly set on fire by a man during the early morning hours of December 8, 2021. He was later arrested. (Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images) ((Photo by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images))
"Five" co-host Harold Ford Jr., a Democratic former Tennessee congressman, also lamented the breakdown in criminal justice under Bragg and his fellow left-wing prosecutors.
Ford, who represented Memphis for many years, said New York is similarly a very blue city with a heavy Democratic advantage electorally.
The fact that outgoing Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., nearly toppled Gov. Kathy Hochul – combined with the possibility New York State may have essentially tipped the U.S. House to the Republicans – shows Republicans must get serious about the national crime crisis.
Democrats voted for Zeldin and other Republicans like Reps.-elect Michael Lawler, George Santos, Marc Molinaro and others because they had a clear message on crime.
"Because public safety and crime are incredibly important to people of all backgrounds wherever they may live in this state," Ford said.
"[Democrats] will not enjoy this [voter registration] advantage if we continue to take in the lackadaisical and irresponsible way as we go about talking about these issues. I know Alvin Bragg and I like him personally. I would much rather have him – or for that matter, anyone in that office – sit back after a year and say, what's working and what's not working."
"A lot of people in Manhattan, regardless of these numbers, do not feel safe," Ford added.