Former judge and longtime television host Judy Sheindlin explained why she believes so many people have fled woke cities, which have become dangerous for the average family.

Sheindlin was a Manhattan family court judge who starred in the "Judge Judy" television show from 1996-2021, eventually starting her own production for a similar show called "Judy Justice."

The judge recently gave an interview to pinpoint the reason for the rapid degradation of some of the United States' biggest cities.

"Oh I know how we got here," Sheindlin began. "We got here because a small group of people who had very loud voices created a scenario where bad people got rewarded. And the victim got punished by the system," she told Fox News.

"When society started to make excuses for bad behavior, and react to criminality based upon the excuses, it fell apart," she said.

The 81-year-old said that there "is never an excuse for bad behavior," but certain jurisdictions have allowed excuses for society and lessened the punishments for criminal activities.

'You had district attorneys who didn't know what their job was. And the cities are ruined, people are leaving.'

"You're just as dead if somebody who's 18 kills you or 17, you're just as dead," she continued. The judge remarked that a 17-year-old that is convicted of heinous crimes should not be in the same facility as a 12-year-old simply because they are underage.

Sheindlin pointed to big cities like New York as examples of where excuse-making has become law.

"A very small group of people pushed through, in New York state for example, raising the level of criminal responsibility. That's ridiculous. You have a family, you have a mother who's 65 years old that's walking to a grocery store, and some crazy, for no reason hits her over the head with a steel pipe and kills her, and they're 17; that person should never be allowed to walk the street again."

"Society can't take a chance. I wouldn't take a chance putting them living next to me, why would I take a chance putting them next to you?"

The judge was born in Brooklyn, New York, and became an attorney at just 23 years old. In 1972, she became a prosecutor in the New York family court system. Biography reported that she prosecuted juvenile crime, domestic violence, and child abuse cases.

'We better get smart before we get lost, permanently.'

In her recent interview, Sheindlin blamed district attorneys for not doing their job and subsequently ruining cities.

"When you have district attorneys who are charged, whose job it is to do justice, but to keep the community safe. When you have elected district attorneys who don't know what their job is, they should go find another job."

"Fill ice cream cones someplace. But don't ruin cities," she added. "What's happened around New York City, Portland, San Francisco, you had district attorneys who didn't know what their job was. And the cities are ruined, people are leaving."

"We better get smart before we get lost, permanently."

Sheindlin has provided comment in recent years about high-profile cases and even spoke out against cancel culture in 2021.

"To have a fear of speaking your opinion, for fear of being put on somebody's list and canceled. ... It's a frightening place for America to be."

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