{"id":2616474,"date":"2026-06-19T21:00:02","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T01:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mamdani-backed-candidate-declines-to-say-if-murderers-should-get-jail-time\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T21:02:52","modified_gmt":"2026-06-20T01:02:52","slug":"mamdani-backed-candidate-declines-to-say-if-murderers-should-get-jail-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/mamdani-backed-candidate-declines-to-say-if-murderers-should-get-jail-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Mamdani-backed candidate declines to say if murderers should get jail time"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmamdani-backed-candidate-declines-to-say-if-murderers-should-get-jail-time%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2616474&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Darializa Avila Chevalier, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/john-stossel-breaks-down-5-myths-of-socialism-yet-young-americans-still-attracted-to-failed-deadly-system\/\" title=\"John Stossel Breaks Down 5 Myths Of Socialism; Yet Young Americans Still Attracted To Failed, Deadly System\">democratic socialist running<\/a> for New York&#8217;s 13th Congressional District, declined to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-day-late-and-a-dollar-short-critics-slam-bidens-tepid-response-to-pro-abortion-protesters-and-draft-leaker\/\" title=\"A Day Late And A Dollar Short: Critics Slam Biden\u2019s Tepid Response To Pro-Abortion Protesters And Draft Leaker\">directly state<\/a> whether her campaign supports incarcerating murderers, instead emphasizing her focus on systemic issues and harm reduction. She identified as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/los-angeles-da-hires-anti-cop-activist-for-top-prosecutor-job\/\" title=\"Los Angeles DA Hires Anti-Cop Activist for Top Prosecutor Job\">prison abolitionist<\/a>, advocating for the transformation of justice systems to prevent harm rather than solely punishing offenders. Avila Chevalier works as a public defender, highlighting that many crimes are rooted in poverty and systemic inequality, and she criticizes the current penal system for traumatizing individuals and perpetuating cycles of harm. She has engaged in positive discussions with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, opposes deportations, and has expressed uncertainty about Israel&#8217;s continued existence as a country. Additionally, she has emphasized the importance of examining underlying societal causes of harm and prioritizing preventative approaches over incarceration.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-york\/\">New York<\/a> democratic <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/socialism\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"510\">socialist<\/a> Darializa Avila Chevalier this week declined to say if her House <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/section\/news\/campaigns\/\" type=\"category\" id=\"44\">campaign<\/a> supports sending murderers to jail. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In an interview, the self<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >-proclaimed \u201cprison abolitionist\u201d refused<\/a> four times to directly confirm whether she endorses locking up people convicted of murder. Avila Chevalier is running to represent the 13th Congressional District and was recently endorsed by New York City Mayor <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/zohran-mamdani\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"11802\">Zohran Mamdani<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/squad-acolyte-jamaal-bowman-cozies-up-to-controversial-turkish-advocacy-group\/\" title=\"Squad Acolyte Jamaal Bowman Cozies Up To Controversial Turkish Advocacy Group\">fellow democratic socialist<\/a>.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4617057\/mamdani-democratic-socialist-candidate-giveaway-election-law\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Mamdani-backed democratic socialist candidate\u2019s ice cream giveaway raises election law concerns<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4616802\/democrats-fear-maine-swing-district-off-board-matt-dunlap-victory\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Democrats fear Maine swing district \u2018off the board\u2019 after Matt Dunlap victory<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/entertainment\/4616657\/far-left-expanding-in-the-democratic-party-guy-benson\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Far left is \u2018expanding\u2019 in the Democratic Party: Guy Benson<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI work at a public defender\u2019s office where most of our clients are incredibly poor black and brown New Yorkers,\u201d Avila Chevalier <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/nyeditorialboard.substack.com\/p\/darializa-avila-chevalier-on-housing\">told<\/a> the New York Editorial Board, a substack run by New York City journalists. \u201cAnd for so many, the crimes that they\u2019re being indicted for are crimes of poverty, or the effects of poverty.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-1\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-15\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat we have right now is a system in whenever harm happens, there\u2019s more harm being perpetrated, not only on the folks who engaged in the harm, but also on the victims of the harm,\u201d the democratic socialist continued. \u201cI\u2019m someone who has actually been the victim of crimes, of violence, and gone to the police as a young person thinking, doing the thing that society told me to do, and all that did was traumatize me more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBut can you get a little less abstract?\u201d interviewer Ben Smith asked. \u201cLike she was watching a jury vote on the guy\u2019s guilty, should he be sentenced or not?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is what I\u2019m saying, is that when that happens, and as someone who has sat in so many courtrooms, to me, all of that is tragic,\u201d Avila Chevalier said when pressed to clarify her position for the fourth time. \u201cThe fact that the murder happened is tragic. The fact that there was a circumstance in which that could even come to pass is tragic, and all of that is a reflection of systems that allowed that circumstance to be possible. And so, you know, I have always focused my attention on how do we create systems where that\u2019s not even a possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-2\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-16\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-2\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the interview, Avila Chevalier, 32, also revealed she has had \u201cvery positive conversations\u201d with Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"282\">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a> (D-NY), criticized billionaires and the \u201cfascist in the White House,\u201d and declined to say whether she would back House Minority Leader <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/hakeem-jeffries\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"790\">Hakeem Jeffries<\/a> (D-NY) in his leadership position if elected. Avila Chevalier is running to unseat Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chairman Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), a close ally of Jeffries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She also detailed some of her other policy positions, saying she is against deporting anyone from the United States and declined to directly confirm if she believes <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/israel\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"219\">Israel<\/a> should continue to exist as a country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4587335\/mamdani-endorses-democratic-socialist-over-adriano-espaillat\/\"><strong>MAMDANI ENDORSES DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST OVER AIPAC-BACKED ADRIANO ESPAILLAT IN NEW YORK HOUSE RACE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-3\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-17\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-3\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the issue of prison abolitionism, Avila Chevalier said she worried that many people misunderstood what she believes. The House candidate said she believes the worldview centers on the \u201cquestion of harm,\u201d and asking \u201cwhy is it that there is so much harm in our society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat we do is that we then put people behind bars in incredibly traumatizing conditions in a context where they cannot actually reflect on the harm that they caused or feel any remorse on that because they\u2019re just trying to survive inside, and they\u2019re being re-traumatized day after day after day while inside,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd then when they\u2019re released, they\u2019re bringing that trauma back to our community. \u2026 We have to think not only about interrupting that cycle of harm but also preventing it from the onset. And part of that has to do with thinking about, what are the systems that actually reduce that harm from happening in the first place?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wex-inarticle-ad wex-inarticle-ad-art-dsk-inart-4\">\n<div class=\"wex-ad-wrap\" style=\"min-height:5px;\"><span class=\"wex-ad-label\" style=\"display:none;\">Advertisement<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-3182201-25\" data-wex-ad=\"art-dsk-inart-4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NY socialist Avila Chevalier avoids confirming support for jail sentences<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2616475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/avila-chevalier.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[33010,3728,4431,56552,5894],"class_list":["post-2616474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-criminal-justice","tag-election","tag-legal","tag-mamdani","tag-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/avila-chevalier.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2616474"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2616478,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2616474\/revisions\/2616478"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2616475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2616474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2616474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2616474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}