Record on wrongful convictions
In her op-ed, Bazelon said the most troubling part of Harris’ record was that she "fought tooth and nail to uphold wrongful convictions that had been secured through official misconduct that included evidence tampering, false testimony and the suppression of crucial information by prosecutors."
In one case cited by Bazelon, Harris’ AG’s office sought to block a defendant from leaving prison after two federal judges threw out his conviction of carrying a concealed knife. The reason cited for blocking his release, according to a news report from 2012, was that the man’s attorney had filed a petition seeking his release six years after he was legally required to do so, and because the office maintained evidence still pointed to the defendant’s guilt. Harris’ supporters have said she likely wasn’t directly involved in decisions to block the release of the defendants in question.
"She was not personally involved in every case, and she has said she wished prosecutors under her had brought more cases to her attention," Harris’ campaign said in a written response. "Some of these cases never reached her desk personally. Some cases, once she was made aware, she intervened to change course. … But as she's said, she takes responsibility for everything that happened (at her agency) while she was AG."
Lateefah Simon, an Oakland-based advocate for civil rights and racial justice, said in a letter published in The New York Times responding to Bazelon’s op-ed, that Harris’ record must be viewed through a wider lens.
"For decades, Kamala Harris has fought to make our system more just. I give her credit and hope that others will look at the totality of her record of reform before jumping to conclusions," wrote Simon, who led the creation of the Back on Track program under under Harris at the San Francisco district attorney’s office.
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