PBS Documentary Collection on Civil Rights Activist In all probability Ought to Have Been a Function

By Last updated Feb 3, 2021

Sometimes the best way to do institutional reform is to change it from within. This is what longtime Philadelphia civil rights activist and defense attorney Larry Krasner thought when he launched his bid to become the city’s next district attorney. He won the 2017 election and “Philly DA,” an eight-part documentary series for PBS’s banner “Independent Lens,” shows what happened next. Suddenly, this longtime advocate of mass incarceration was Philadelphia’s chief prosecutor.

Krasner stepped into his role as prosecutor with the mission: to end bail, resulting in defendants being jailed simply for being poor, and to find other ways to reform an approach to the criminal justice system that would do so Has Led Philadelphia To Be The Most Jailed Major City In The U.S. A couple of things seem to be no-brainers: Increase the amount of drugs an arrested person carries before a larger prison sentence is handed down to ease the sentences against shoplifting, de facto decriminalize sex work (in particular, lower the high rate of arrests for sex workers).

More from IndieWire

But that laser focus becomes increasingly blurred in the first two hour long episodes of “Philly DA,” which are made available to critics. So did the filmmaking in the series, which was created by Ted Passon, Yoni Brook and Nicole Salazar himself. The most non-profit explanation is that the on-screen storytelling subsides because Krasner is being pulled in so many different directions and his own prioritization is scattered.

An art-imitating approach to life doesn’t take into account any strange structural decisions, however: why does the story of mass incarceration in Philadelphia largely stay up until 20 minutes after the second episode, when sloppy cop mayor Frank Rizzo’s ignoble legacy is finally explained? The institutional racism he encouraged on his watch influenced the standard practice of Philly Cops for decades. Even in the 2010s, when much of the Philadelphia police force was made up of colored officers, their advocacy group, the fraternal police force, was dominated by retired white police officers from the Rizzo era.

The story goes on

This feels like a context that should have been upfront, while Episode 1 just introduces the idea that since the future Democratic governor Ed Rendell in the late 1970s, every Philadelphia prosecutor before Krasner has been more aggressive against crime than the last . Instead of introducing programs to fight poverty, solve mental health problems, or provide recreation centers, the answer has simply become to just imprison more people – almost always Black or Hispanic Philadelphians.

Passon and Brook take primary responsibility for the series and follow Krasner in a procedural film, partly in Frederick Wiseman-style, about how the prosecution works – with hundreds of ADAs (Assistant District Attorney) reporting to Krasner – and part of the legal profession. The first two episodes offer a largely awesome, uncritical view of Krasner himself. We have to take her word for it, and Krasner of course that he is the best man for the job. A black woman advocating criminal justice reform says that as a white man, Krasner is best placed to carry out that reform, and that statement is taken for granted. Even if future episodes offer more criticism of Krasner, especially whether he keeps his promises, the fact that “Philly DA” on April 20 – just weeks before the Democratic Elementary School in Philadelphia where he is challenged – feels on PBS Premiere got a boost for its re-election campaign. (To update: The Philadelphia PBS station WHYY will postpone the broadcast of Philly DA in Philadelphia until after the local elections in November 2021.)

Unfortunately, the procedural approach is just as problematic as the legal profession. It results in largely sluggish storytelling that doesn’t humanize the people Krasner tries to help as much as possible. In these very office-bound episodes, the wrongly imprisoned are often viewed in the abstract, dominated by people in business attire speaking on podiums or at conference tables. An incident in Episode 1 where an attorney for the Philadelphia Bail Fund uses money he has raised to get three defendants out of jail who cannot otherwise pay their bail (one is only $ 500) is the kind of fundamental point of view that “Philly DA” needs in a larger supply. One of those detained there is a black teenager who has been behind bars for eight months, waiting to be tried.

A moment in Episode 2 is equally revealing: when the mother of a black teenage boy who was killed in an act of gun violence learns that her son’s killer is being released because the cops who investigated the murder failed to follow proper procedures to have. They found text messages on the perpetrator’s phone proving that he was the killer, but they are not acceptable in court for accessing his phone without a warrant – a wrongdoing that was captured by a surveillance camera. The mother confronts Krasner with a calm determination that makes her one of the most admirable people in the entire first two episodes. But she is also one of the few “normal people” who is given a lot of time for the screen.

They are just like the gun victim’s mother, Krasner, saying he wants to help by putting hundreds of police officers on a “don’t call” list – as too corrupt or unable to be named as credible witnesses in a trial – will refer them back to less sensitive roles. Positions that at least reduce their chances of being key to prosecution cases. Hopefully another mother won’t have to see her son’s murderer set free. But if someone like her is who Krasner ultimately says he serves, why aren’t people like her the focus of this show? It’s hard to believe that a feature film with a much clearer focus, rather than a series that balances so many ingredients in impersonal ways, would make the impact of a man in this vital office more powerful on the people he serves could have shown.

Grade: C +

“Philly DA” premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. It will air on April 20th on PBS.

Best of IndieWire

Originally published February 2, 2021, 7:50 p.m.