Jackson County prosecutor candidates disagree on how to best handle innocence claims
The next Jackson County prosecutor will handle cases of possible wrongful conviction much differently than the current administration.
Republican Tracey Chappell and Democrat Melesa Johnson are running to become the new prosecutor. Longtime Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker is not seeking reelection.
Prosecutors’ offices across the country have adopted conviction integrity units, which can look into past cases where a defendant’s trial may have had errors or claims of innocence. It is one way wrongful convictions have been discovered in Jackson County.
Three men — Keith Carnes, Ricky Kidd and Kevin Strickland — have been exonerated in recent years after being wrongfully convicted in Kansas City cases.
Baker’s office has a conviction integrity unit, but it has been criticized for using staff who still have prosecutorial duties and aren’t dedicated full-time to the unit. Some say that structure creates a conflict of interest and lacks the attention the unit needs.
Both candidates say they would change the unit if elected.
Johnson said she would look for funding through the U.S. Department of Justice and other organizations to beef up the unit.
“I want dedicated staff, dedicated investigators, and an online or public-facing way for community to submit pieces of exonerating evidence to the unit,” she said. “Right now that does not exist.”
Initially, Johnson said she would like the unit to have two attorneys and at least one investigator.
She hopes it could grow “to really be more responsive to the general community.”
While the prosecutor’s office can have an application to challenge a conviction available, Chappell said she supports a totally separate entity that reviews those types of cases.
“I’m not real big on the prosecutor overseeing the cases that they’ve charged and prosecuted,” she said. “In my opinion, it’s almost like the wolf overseeing the chicken coop.”
She pointed to a possible option through the state. Earlier this year, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a measure into law which creates a conviction review unit under the Missouri Office of Prosecution Services, or MOPS.
The group said in a statement posted online that the unit will have two attorneys, an investigator, a paralegal and other administrative staff. However it doesn’t have funding for staff. That will require additional legislation.
The earliest the MOPS unit would be able to accept applications to review a case would be after July 1.
The election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5.
