GOVERNMENT & POLITICS: Seth Williams

The Crime Boss


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Published: Oct 20, 2010

Name of the Law: Seth Williams peers into the D.A.ï¿½s Office window Oct. 14, City Hall reflected in the glass.

Jessica Kourkounis

NAME OF THE LAW: Seth Williams peers into the D.A.'s Office window Oct. 14, City Hall reflected in the glass.

In a city that has bombed itself, canonized Frank Rizzo and defended brutal cops who act with impunity, the rote notion of being "tough on crime" should make us all ill. It's a credo that advocates red-blooded brawn over justice. But instead, because we yearn for a solution — any solution — the philosophy typically delivers votes and respect.

This year, it finally didn't: Seth Williams, who ran on a decidedly neomammalian approach, became Philly's district attorney.

"People think the only response to criminal behavior is to be tougher," says Williams. "But the reality is, if you're 'tough' on everything, you end up being tough on nothing."

Indeed, Philly has a busted budget, more than 75,000 cases a year, and one of the lowest conviction rates in the country. Which is why Williams made a ballsy move: He eased the penalty for possessing fewer than 30 grams of marijuana, a crime that led to at least 3,000 cases annually; the D.A.'s Office now treats it as a summary offense instead of a misdemeanor, which is punishable by a fine rather than a draconian jail sentence and criminal record.

"We were hiring an attorney for defendants, having the police hang out in court for several days, and paying thousands of dollars per case — when somebody possessed about $10 worth of weed," he says. "It was ludicrous."

Though we don't bless every step Williams takes — frankly, he could handle police misconduct and house theft much better — we're hopeful his progressivism won't end with dank. Next year, Williams says the D.A.'s Office will adopt San Francisco's "Back on Track" program. In lieu of a jail sentence, it gives nonviolent, first-time drug offenders job training, drug and alcohol treatment and literacy classes.

Currently, the recidivism rate for those folks is about 73 percent. In other words, it's about damn time we quit being tough.

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