(TJV NEWS) New York City’s leading far-left mayoral candidate, Zohran Mamdani, once questioned whether jails and prisons should exist at all — reviving outrage over the extreme, ideology-driven agenda that many fear would put public safety at serious risk if he wins in November.

Zohran Mamdani on abolishing prisons and jail: “What purpose do they serve, besides making people feel good?” pic.twitter.com/KYgD1nRP8U

— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) July 17, 2025

In newly resurfaced remarks from a 2020 interview on a fringe podcast called The Far Left Show, Mamdani, then a state Assembly candidate, openly wondered “what purpose [jails] serve,” suggesting the entire carceral system may do more harm than good. The footage was recently amplified on social media by the “End Wokeness” account, and originally reported by the New York Post.

This isn’t a new theme for Mamdani. The self-described democratic socialist has repeatedly attacked the concept of incarceration as inherently oppressive. He’s denounced prisons as a pillar of white supremacy and has said shrinking the jail population is the only viable way to fix the crisis at Rikers Island. He’s not just calling for reform — he wants a full-scale retreat from punishment, incarceration, and traditional justice.

The implications of Mamdani’s views are alarming to many in law enforcement and public safety advocacy circles. Critics argue his agenda would gut the justice system and leave law-abiding citizens at the mercy of repeat offenders, violent criminals, and predatory abusers.

Instead of addressing crime, Mamdani supports mass decarceration, shuttering Rikers, and expanding alternatives to prosecution. He’s advocated for releasing more suspects pre-trial, diverting cases from court entirely, and pumping money into unproven social programs rather than holding criminals accountable.

Police sources and public safety experts have slammed these views as dangerous “luxury beliefs”— progressive talking points insulated from the real-world consequences faced by working-class communities that suffer most when law and order break down.

The head of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association warned that Mamdani’s proposals would unleash chaos across New York, prioritizing the rights of violent offenders over the safety of everyday New Yorkers. The backlash has also come from GOP mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa, who condemned Mamdani’s anti-prison stance as “preposterous” and compared him to the likes of Eric Adams and Andrew Cuomo, who also supported prison closures and criminal justice “reforms” that critics say have fueled rising crime.

Mamdani hasn’t walked back his radical views, either. As recently as March, he reiterated his vow to close Rikers and expand non-carceral alternatives, despite overwhelming evidence that such policies lead to more crime, not less.

With the general election approaching, Mamdani’s history of embracing extreme, anti-prison rhetoric has become a flashpoint — and a warning sign for voters who believe in justice, accountability, and keeping dangerous individuals off the streets.