One exception, the attorney said, is the countyвЂ™s Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program. вЂњBut in order to get into those programs, you have to plead guilty, and so you have all of the attendant disadvantages. вЂњIвЂ™ve had clients in the past who thought that they didnвЂ™t have a record as a result of going through veterans court or drug court,вЂќ Middleman said. But Middleman said almost none of them are вЂњtrue diversionary programs,вЂќ which she said allow participants to have their charges dismissed and cleared from their record. To that end, the defense attorney said she would make it вЂњthe rule instead of the exceptionвЂќ to link eligible defendants to treatment and community support in lieu of time behind bars.Дuring his tenure, Zappala has sought to provide such support through вЂњdiversionary programsвЂќ such as mental health court and drug court. вЂњSo in the long run,вЂќ she said, вЂњif you can help people and treat them and keep them out of the criminal justice system entirely, we will have a much safer environment.вЂќ

Middleman said people charged with minor crimes would be less likely to commit future offenses if they were to receive more support. вЂњWeвЂ™ve been treating addiction and mental illness and poverty as crimes.вЂќ вЂњWeвЂ™ve been misled for the entire length of my career into believing that if we punish human frailty, we can somehow make it go away,вЂќ Middleman said. Like Jenkins, Middleman said she would push harder as district attorney than Zappala to find alternatives to incarceration for low-level offenders. Her bid comes about a month after the failed primary challenge of Democrat Turahn Jenkins. Middleman, 57, seeks to unseat Democrat Stephen Zappala, who has been DA since 1998. вЂњBut when the opportunity arose to make a bigger, better, systemic change, I jumped on it.вЂќ вЂњIвЂ™ve spent the last 30 years as a public defender, and IвЂ™ve seen all the shortcomings of the criminal justice system, and I try to fight them one client at a time.вЂќ Middleman, of Franklin Park, said. Long-time Allegheny County public defender Lisa Middleman said Monday that she plans to run as an independent for district attorney in November.

Lisa middleman