china press: Challenging Katz judge Grasso shares campaign opinions

George Grasso, a senior judge with 43 years of criminal justice experience, will challenge Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz for re-election in the Democratic primary election in June. On the 16th, Grasso visited "Qiaobao" to talk about the original intention and political views of the campaign. The theme of his campaign was "New York City's recovery begins in Queens", and he said that his campaign would be a "political earthquake". Turn the tide of crime in New York. Lu Zhongwei, deputy editor-in-chief of "Qiao Bao", and Guan Liming, director of the interview department, received Grasso and his party.

Grasso, 65, was born in Queens. He joined the city police department in 1979 and became a judge after retiring from the position of first deputy police chief in 2010. He has served as a judge in courts in Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx . Before the epidemic, Grasso served as a criminal judge of the Queens Supreme Court. He served until 2024. During his term of office, he formulated a plan to speed up the trial of cases and deal with the backlog of cases, especially for the defendant's highest gun charges. Young people with guns offer the opportunity to clear their name and obtain services that reduce their likelihood of committing crimes in the future.

Grasso said that the crime rate of all major crimes is increasing, including Flushing, Queens. The crime rate in Flushing has increased by 118% in two years, the crime rate in the city has increased by about 30%, and the crime rate in Queens has increased by 44%. However, Katz has no clear plan and strategy to reduce crime. He wants to correct the problems facing the criminal justice system, including bail reform, which is why he decided to resign from his beloved judge at the end of last August.

Current New York state law does not allow judges to consider the defendant's danger when deciding whether to release bail. Grasso said that with 30 years of police experience and about 13 years of experience as a judge, he has conducted thousands of arraignments. He is qualified to express the judge's thoughts. He believes that the state legislature is dishonest and "playing double-faced". He believes that judges should consider danger. , but did not want to bear the pressure of the left to place the blame on the judge.

Grasso noted that the criminal justice package signed by then-Governor Cuomo threw the justice system into disarray and unleashed a wave of politically driven crime that he believes is now facing Flushing, Queens, and even New York City. His campaign will be a "political earthquake" and will turn the tide of crime in New York from his campaign.

Grasso believes that criminal justice reform is first and foremost to give judges discretion, allowing judges to consider the defendant's danger when making bail decisions, considering the defendant's criminal history, the possibility of reappearing in court and the frequency of crimes. In addition, he will run as the Independent Party candidate in the general election, seeking votes from Republican and Independent Party voters in addition to Democratic voters.

Written by Zhang Jing, China Press

https://www.uschinapress.com/static/content/HS/2023-02-17/1076150056794861568.html