The three Democrats hoping to replace retiring Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau made their cases known Tuesday night during their first and only debate.

Leslie Crocker Snyder, Cyrus Vance, Jr., and Richard Aborn met at John Jay College for the square-off which was moderated by NY1's Dominic Carter.

The three faced questions on some of Manhattan's most high-profile cases including Plaxico Burress, the Central Park jogger, and hot-button issues like how to prosecute drug offenders.

Things got a little heated at the end when the candidates were allowed to question each other.

"The problem is that you spent almost 17 years of the last 21 in Seattle, representing people who deserve representation, but murderers, someone who killed or wanted to kill his wife by lacing Sudafed with some kind of poison and killed two innocent people," Crocker Snyder said.

"I believe that everybody in this country deserves the right to a fair trial, particularly those who are presupposed guilty like the individual in the Sudafed case," Vance argued. "I took on that case in a court-appointed capacity. I believe that is the job of a defense lawyer to protect people and to make sure the government proves its case. Now if you believe otherwise, you shouldn't be running for this job."

Meanwhile, Aborn was critical of Vance's role in reforming the Rockefeller drug laws.

"You praised those recommendations as bold reforms in a press release that you put out. Yet those recommendations were routinely denounced by the advocates, by the chairman of the codes committee, and the Assembly, by the chairman of the committee in the Senate, and by everyone else who follows this topic as being wholly inadequate. So I'm wondering why you chose to support such a weak recommendation," Aborn said.

With no Republican on the ballot, the winner of this month's primary will likely be voted in as the new district attorney come November.