ST. LOUIS – Embattled St. Louis, Mo., circuit attorney Kim Gardner – who is currently facing pressure to resign – used an organization linked with far-left political donor George Soros to inject an “aggressive” “racial equity” agenda into the office’s daily operations, which affected prosecutorial decisions, a Fox News Digital investigation found. In 2017, and shortly after she was elected, Gardner brought in The Vera Institute of Justice to aid an “aggressive” ideological reform.
Soros’ Open Society Foundations donated nearly $11 million to Vera in previous years. The collaboration between Gardner and Vera was considered a “pilot partnership,” which the nonprofit said it would use as a “blueprint” for future district attorney offices around the U.S. as part of its mission to end “mass incarceration” and dissolve the criminal justice system’s footprint in the U.S.
“[T]he criminal legal system has been a tool of racial oppression and social control… of Black people…. As some of the most powerful actors in the system, prosecutors have a responsibility to work to rectify that impact,” Vera said. “Prosecutors should… repair harms caused by the system… They should also dramatically shift the policies, practices, and organizational culture of their offices to address racial disparities and ensure respect for the inherent dignity of all people.”
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