Carlos Vega | 2021 Candidate Questionnaire

Question 1: Why are you running for District Attorney?

As the first Latino Homicide prosecutor in Pennsylvania, I have devoted my career to protecting Philadelphians; helping to overturn wrongful convictions; and standing up for marginalized communities like the one I grew up in that are too often targeted by crime and an inequitable criminal justice system.

As a young boy, I learned the value of hard work and perseverance working for my mom’s bodega. Everyone in the family had duties in the store—from cleaning and stocking shelves, to running the cash register. It was there that I first witnessed the tragic reality of crime. My mom’s store was often burglarized and robbed—sometimes at knifepoint and gunpoint. This took a huge emotional and financial toll on my family. I spent many nights praying for their safety. These experiences motivated me to dedicate my life to public service and seek justice on behalf of victims of crime to ensure that people like my family could live and work in safe communities.

I was recruited by Ed Rendell to join the District Attorney’s office in 1982. Five years later, I became the first Latino homicide prosecutor in Pennsylvania. I spent 30 years in the homicide unit on the frontlines helping to protect our communities and ensure that victims and their families have a voice. I worked hard to ensure that real justice was served by arguing for meaningful, yet fair consequences for criminal activity and making sure that innocent people were not punished for crimes they did not commit. I’m a father to three wonderful children, and I’m raising two of them on my own. Rather than pursuing more lucrative work as a private criminal defense attorney, I worked night shifts at UPS for nearly 15 years while continuing to pursue my calling as a prosecutor to put my kids through Catholic school as my mom had done for me.

I’m running for District Attorney because I have the experience and vision to make our city safer and bring real progressive reform at a time when our city is experiencing an epidemic of violence.

Question 2: District attorneys can choose how charges are filed against an individual accused of a crime, including whether or not to prosecute certain types of charges, and what kind of charges are filed. What is your approach to charging?

My office will charge every case that is properly investigated and in which there is sufficient evidence to prosecute. Crucially, the recommended sentencing will combine both a need to ensure consequences to criminal activity as well as a real, workable path to rehabilitation. Incarceration is not the appropriate form of punishment in every case and it will not be recommended wantonly.

Question 3: What is your position on the role of diversion for drug-possession cases?

I believe one of the biggest areas of opportunity for the next District Attorney is around diversionary programs. Mass incarceration has clearly failed to make our communities safer, and the lesson of the past decades is abundantly clear: we cannot incarcerate our way to safety. While there must always be fair consequences for criminal activity to protect marginalized communities from violence, we must also think holistically about how we can reduce harm within a community when crimes have been committed and figure out how to provide alternative pathways to criminal activity.

As District Attorney, I would work to establish a jobs-focused early intervention program together with the help of labor leaders throughout the city. A key to disrupting the cycle of poverty and crime in marginalized communities like the one I grew up in is to have leaders in these neighborhoods partner with criminal justice, religious, civic, and business leaders to provide real alternative pathways that give access to jobs and careers that pay a living wage.

Question 4: What is your position on cash bail?

I believe the current cash bail system is an abject failure. Under the current District Attorney, too many people who pose no threat to the community are incarcerated simply because they cannot afford their bail, while at the same time it allows people intent on inflicting harm on marginalized communities to freely walk the streets. I would seek to ensure the opposite: that there is no cash bail for non-violent, low-level offenders, while utilizing it for violent offenders who pose a serious threat to society. It is important to treat each individual on a case-by-case basis as the circumstances and severity of the alleged crime(s) as well as the record of the alleged perpetrator(s) vary, making a one-size-fits-all policy ineffective and harmful.

Question 5: Do you think there is a public threat from the existence of sexism, racism, and white supremacy within law enforcement? If so, what role would you as DA take in addressing this, if any?

White supremacy, patriarchy, and sexism are part of the injustices that plague our criminal justice system. I believe the District Attorney should be committed to rooting out these injustices in our system because doing so will make our system more just and safe. In particular, I think we need to root out racial and wealth-based inequities by prohibiting cash bail for people charged with misdemeanors and do not pose a risk to the community.

We must also break the school-to-prison pipeline by instituting and fully implementing early intervention programs and building new bridges between the residents and stakeholders from the legal, religious, education, and business communities. I would seek to partner with the Mayor, City Council, and other government bodies to address root causes of crime like drug addiction, lack of housing, and mental health conditions.

Lastly, I would expand the Conviction Integrity Unit to ensure that no one is serving time for crimes that did not commit. As District Attorney, I would increase the quality of re-investigations and speed up the initial intake review. No innocent person should have to wait two or three years to have an initial review completed. I would also staff the unit with experienced former defense attorneys, prosecutors, and investigators with trial and/or investigatory experience.

Question 6: Philadelphia is experiencing a gun violence epidemic, and rates of fatal and non-fatal shootings have increased in the last year. What role does the DA’s office have in addressing the gun violence epidemic?

The role of the DAO in conjunction with the mayor and city council is:

Prevention:through education, mental health treatment and employment opportunities.
Intervention: treat drug addiction and treatment as a health issue.
Enforcement: through law enforcement using community and religious leaders and private business as a partnership to address the issues of at-risk youth.
Re-entry: having individuals on probation participate in my Learn and Earn program which will give participants a road map to success.

Question 7: Under what circumstances, if any would you seek the death penalty?

I believe it should be used only in extremely violent cases that cut to the core of community’s safety and our judicial system (i.e, the killing of a witness, the torturing of a child, or serial killers). I also believe these decisions should be made by a committee that includes seasoned DAs and the defendant’s attorney.

Question 8: What is your approach to sentencing recommendations?

Excessive punishment or lack of consequences for criminal activity makes our communities more vulnerable, especially communities of color. In keeping with my case-by-case approach to bail recommendations, I believe sentencing recommendations should be tailored to the individual, the circumstances of the case, and the safety of the victim and community.

Question 9: What is your position on how the DA’s office policies can impact mass incarceration?

As District Attorney, I would work to establish a jobs-focused early intervention program together with the help of labor leaders throughout the city. A key to disrupting the cycle of poverty and crime in marginalized communities like the one I grew up in is to have leaders in these neighborhoods partner with criminal justice, religious, civic, and business leaders to provide real alternative pathways that provide access to jobs and careers that pay a living wage.

Question 10: What is your policy on civil asset forfeiture?

I would adhere to the federal court’s consent decree as well as the permanent injunction in that

The person is to be promptly notified;
Rules of civil procedure must be followed;
A hearing must be held before a Common Pleas judge;
The District Attorney cannot object if the defendant requests a continuance until the resolution of the criminal case.