Dem New Orleans D.A.: We Have ‘Unparalleled’ Repeat Violence and Had to Bring Back Tough Law I Suspended — ‘Rome Is Burning’

On Thursday’s broadcast of the Fox News Channel’s “America’s Newsroom,” New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams (D) stated that on crime, “Rome is burning, not just in New Orleans, but in this entire country.” And in addition to an “unprecedented” level of criminal brazenness, “the level of repeated violence is unparalleled.” Williams also stated that he has now brought back the multiple offender law that he suspended earlier in his term.

Williams said, “I am quoted as saying Rome is burning and that is not meant to be hyperbolic. And I’ve been ringing this alarm for over a year now when carjackings began to surge. But Rome is burning, not just in New Orleans, but in this entire country. Uvalde, Nashville, TN, Midtown Atlanta yesterday, Cleveland, TX last week. This pandemic of violence is not confined to New Orleans’ borders. But this is the area that I am focused on. This is where my family lives, and the level of repeated violence is unparalleled. And we need national and local responses to it. I don’t think it’s a Democrat or a Republican issue, whether you’re a liberal or a progressive, I think we can all agree that murder, rape, and armed robbery need to be dealt with aggressively and consistently. But this is a triage moment right now.”

He added, “The brazenness of crimes is unprecedented.”

Later, co-host Bill Hemmer asked, “As the leading officer of the law in your town…if the criminals have no fear, you’ve got to change that. And you can do it with proper punishment. Don’t you agree?”

Williams answered, “I completely agree with that. We actually have brought back the multiple offender law. It was suspended for the first two years of my term because it had been misused for so long on low-level, non-violent crimes. We’re focusing on using that for people who are hurting people, murder, rape, armed robbery. We’ve had to transfer a number of cases from juvenile court to adult court because a punishment of serving time until you’re 21 years of age is simply not enough accountability for the victims or for someone to learn from their bad behavior.”

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