For 18 months, I've been strongly opposed to charging DC residents in federal court via USAO's felon-in-possession initiative vs. our DC laws. This report shows it has to end now. But here are three more reasons it's the wrong approach (quick thread): https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/dc-crackdown-on-gun-crime-targeted-black-wards-was-not-enforced-citywide-as-announced/2020/09/03/f6de0ce2-e933-11ea-970a-64c73a1c2392_story.html

1) There’s zero evidence the initiative has actually made us safer, and that should be our bottom line. Follow the data: harsher penalties don't prevent gun violence or reduce reoffending.

If we want guns out of our neighborhoods, we know what works (and the Council is funding these prevention programs more than ever before): targeted investments where they are most needed to solve deep rooted problems rather than pretend only police & harsher sentences can fix.

2) Plain and simple, DC government asking for feds to charge DC residents under federal laws and in federal court undermines our demand for statehood and local control. We have enough federal intervention in our affairs without asking for it.

3) Here’s a big problem: federally-charged and sentenced DC residents can't benefit from our local reentry laws and programs that have been proven to reduce reoffending.

Federal court prosecution is one-trick pony: federal conviction & prison, then come home no better off than before (likely even more disconnected). We all benefit when a judge has the full range of options for accountability and rehabilitation that our local law provides.

I’ll re-emphasize my quote in story. This program exclusively and – now we know, by design – targets District residents of color by focusing only on specific police districts. It’s wrong, it's how mass incarceration is built & bottom line - it’s not making us a safe or just city.