A Democratic Socialists of America-backed public defender running for a state Assembly seat in Harlem wants to send convicted rapists, child molesters and murderers to “treatment programs” instead of prisons.
Conrad Blackburn, who is trying to unseat first-term incumbent Assemblyman Jordan Wright, insisted during a March 2024 podcast appearance that locking people up isn’t the answer — even if they’re convicted for serious crimes like “predatory sexual assaults of children” and homicide.
“Even if, like, the client is guilty as f–king sin, I still don’t think that the punishment, like, meets what happened,” said Blackburn, a staff lawyer for nonprofit Bronx Defenders, on the “Brothers In Law” podcast he co-hosts.
“I still don’t think that person deserves to be thrown in a cage and locked away for the rest of their life.”
“So that’s how I come at those cases. It’s like cool, this person did maybe … something bad to somebody,” he added. ”But, like, what are we gonna do about that? … I don’t think it’s prison.”
In a March 2025 episode, Blackburn — a socialist who has gushed about his reverence for Karl Marx and Che Guevara — doubled down, suggesting those who shoot and kill innocent bystanders during gang-related feuds shouldn’t automatically be tossed in prison.
“I think what we envision is some sort of separation for society,” he said. “One that doesn’t have to look like a cage … Maybe community supervision, right? Included in that classes for this individual to understand why what he did harmed society.”
Both he and other co-hosts urged so-called “prison abolitionists” to participate on juries so they could vote to acquit someone — regardless of evidence.
In a January 2025 episode, Blackburn claimed society’s “appetite” for “abolishing police” is stronger than its desire to abolish prisons, and thinks the general public is more “open-minded” about getting rid of jails than most people think.
“It just has to be packaged and dealt to people in a way that is understandable to them,” he said.
Critics bashed his twisted left-wing ideology.
“Harlem doesn’t need an elected official who believe rapists and murderers should go to class instead of going to jail,” said former City Councilwoman and state Assemblywoman Inez Dickens (D-Manhattan).
“It sends the wrong message to criminals that Harlem is their playground and no one is safe. There is nothing progressive about excusing violence or being out of touch with the realities our communities face.”
Reverend Dr. Renee F. Washington Gardener of Memorial Baptist Church said “the criminal justice system is broken — especially for black and brown families who bear the brunt of violence and are too often denied justice” — and that “the worldview put forward by Conrad Blackburn would make it even worse.”
“If he had his way, murders and rapes would soar in Harlem, making our families, our sons, and daughters less safe,” he said.
“As a Harlem pastor who has buried children with their families, comforted survivors of rape, and prayed with mothers who never got their day in court, I refuse to stand by while a would‑be leader treats their suffering as collateral damage.”
“As someone who has worked closely with survivors of violence for years, I believe there must be moral clarity when it comes to rape,” said Harlem activist Jackie Rowe-Adams. “Survivors deserve leaders who understand that the punishment fits the crime and deters more violence.”
Blackburn, meanwhile parroted socialist talking points in a questionnaire he filled out before securing the DSA NYC chapter’s support, saying crime “itself” is a only a social “construct” because “our laws were created by rich white people.”
Mayor Mamdani, a fellow DSA member, overwhelmingly won Harlem in last year’s mayoral election – making Wright’s 70th Assembly district seat one of the state Legislative seats socialists believe they can take from traditional Democrats.
Mamdani, however, hasn’t meddled in the race – in large part because Wright’s father, former Assemblyman Keith Wright, is the boss of the Manhattan Democratic Party and wields major influence.
Blackburn declined to comment.
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