NY Candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier Refuses to Answer Prison Abolition Query

Democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier, the candidate for New York’s 13th Congressional District, declined to state whether she supports sending murderers to jail. Endorsed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Chevalier described herself as a “prison abolitionist” and emphasized systemic harm. She told the New York Editorial Board, “I work at a public defender’s office where most of our clients are incredibly poor black and brown New Yorkers,” and added, “What we have right now is a system in whenever harm happens, there’s more harm being perpetrated, not only on the folks who engaged in the harm, but also on the victims of the harm.” When pressed, she framed the issue as a tragedy rooted in broader social conditions rather than confirming any position on incarceration.