Democratic Washington, D.C. mayoral nominee Janeese Lewis George’s past record includes helping the attorney general’s office create D.C.’s lenient juvenile justice system.Crime is a top voter issue in the November election, with youth arrests increasing for years and comprising an above-average portion of the district’s reported crime. Lewis George was the assistant prosecutor in the office’s Juvenile Section from October 2016 to January 2019 as former Attorney General Karl Racine shifted the office’s policies away from incarceration and prosecution. Now a D.C. Council member, Lewis George frames her work for Racine as “juvenile justice reform” based on “innovative, evidence-based practices.”Records show how Racine advanced a radical pro-rehabilitation philosophy under Lewis George’s team with three programs: “Alternatives to the Court Experience,” the “Restorative Justice Program,” and “Abating Truancy Through Engagement and Negotiated Dialogue.” Lewis George is now heavily favored to win in the Democrat-voting district against her Green Party rival — setting up a likely clash between her and the Trump administration on public safety.
Lewis George’s campaign did not provide a comment when the Washington Examiner reached out. Racine endorsed her mayoral run in April, saying she is “smart, she works hard, she gets the job done, and she always puts people first.” The Democratic Socialists of America also endorsed and conducted voter outreach for Lewis George’s campaign.When prosecution becomes a ‘last resort’
