Philadelphia DA race heats up as GOP challenger slams Krasner over slain beauty queen

Philadelphia DA race heats up as GOP challenger slams Krasner over slain beauty queen

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Philadelphia district attorney candidate Pat Dugan didn’t mince words Wednesday, blasting progressive incumbent Larry Krasner for what he called soft-on-crime policies that he argued led to the disappearance of 23-year-old beauty queen Kada Scott.

“This is literally the fox in the henhouse,” Dugan, a former municipal judge running as a Republican, told “Fox & Friends.” 

“Kada Scott is dead, but this has been going on for eight years because of Krasner’s policies… He refuses to be a prosecutor.”

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Krasner has faced mounting backlash after repeat offender Keon King — previously released on bail before Krasner’s office dropped kidnapping and assault charges — was later charged in the disappearance of Scott, whose remains were discovered over the weekend.

Krasner blamed “systemic issues” for the suspect’s release on bail for the earlier case during a news conference last Friday.

“Ultimately, the buck stops here,” he said. “It’s not my job to throw other people under the bus. If there’s a decision that is poor — and I believe that was an incorrect decision — then we have to own it and try to do better moving forward.”

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Mugshot of Keon King

Krasner said his office withdrew the earlier case because the victim and witness failed to appear, suggesting they were afraid because King was out on bail.

Dugan accused Krasner of “trying to create chaos” — something he said he intends to correct by adequately training prosecutors to represent victims and uphold the law.

“Our job as prosecutors is to protect our citizens and do justice,” Dugan said.

“If there are violent criminals out there, they need to go to jail… I was a judge for 17 years, and one of the things that I did [was] I ran Veterans Court, a holistic restorative type of justice. The recidivism rate was less than 10%, so I believe in second chances, but the people running around with guns, committing carjackings… they need to go to jail and go to jail quickly.”

“Keon King should have been put away earlier this year,” Dugan said.

Dugan and Krasner will face off at the ballot box on Nov. 4. 

Fox News Digital previously reached out to Krasner’s office for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.

Fox News’ Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

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