I am taking on the system in Wyandotte County. That’s why the system is retaliating

For far too long, the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s office has functioned in secrecy and in solidarity with people in power, but all of that changed when I took office. There were no longer any “special deals” for people with connections to someone in power. My election and the affirmative steps I’ve taken to dismantle this machine have empowered the people I serve, but frankly, it also has made me a target.

This office has endured three-and-a-half years of attacks, bullying and half-truths, and the recent, misleading Kansas City Star editorial attacking my record is just the latest example. My opponents have influence, and they apparently have influenced the writing of that editorial. My reforms threaten the status quo in Wyandotte County, and that’s the only reason so many people who benefit from the status quo want to derail my office’s progress.

The primary fear, and the reason I’ve gotten crosswise with the police union, is the Conviction Integrity Unit (now the Community Integrity Unit) we created. They don’t want me digging into past wrongs because they know what I’ll find — more corruption.

The head of the police union has all but vowed to do whatever is necessary to make me a one-term DA because the police union fears my policies concerning officer-involved shootings, my delving into past misconduct claims and our office’s general approach to administering justice in this county. The bromides aimed at my office have happened all over the country where real progressive prosecutors have come in and moved the pursuit of justice in a new direction. What you are seeing in the news media is the result of the political backlash of the police union and the local political machine.

If the machine’s candidate is elected, the cases now in the pipeline of the Community Integrity Unit will never see the light of day, let alone their day in court. But here’s the larger issue: The Star’s editorial, strangely set to detonate during election season, would have you believe that prosecutions are linked to public safety. That, I’m afraid, is one of the oldest, “tough on crime” dog whistles in politics.

But if that were true, Kansas and this nation would be the safest places on earth. Kansas prisons have been running above capacity for a long time. America has more than 2 million people in prisons. But all this mass incarceration has done is bankrupt us and make us less safe. We needed to move forward and implement true criminal justice reform, and that is precisely what I’m doing.

We as a nation cannot keep locking people up and think that will solve our crime problem. Forty percent of our jails are filled with individuals who have mental health concerns. When I ran for office, I said we would address this issue, and that is exactly what my office did and will continue to do. If Wyandotte County residents charged with a crime are willing to accept responsibility for their actions and receive help, that is a win for the entire community.

What you didn’t see in that editorial was that Wyandotte County now has a veterans court, a fully functioning drug court (with the DA office’s participation, unlike before) and a behavioral health court, and our office has established a mental health diversion program. Wyandotte County has received national attention for the work we are doing. We have an excellent diversion program. We have the first conviction integrity unit in the state of Kansas, and now have funding for the Community Integrity Unit. The police no longer investigate themselves when they kill a suspect.

My office has seasoned and professional staff who handle more than 1,500 cases annually. I am proud of the staff and attorneys who work tirelessly as public servants. But my political opponents criticize my ongoing cases knowing that ethically, my office cannot respond to allegations made about an active case. The Star editorial is completely misleading when it discusses cases that were almost dismissed and filled with “prosecutorial negligence.” The trials of these cases were rescheduled because of COVID-19 and are not finished.

The discovery referred to in the editorial was in fact given to the defendant and to his first attorney a year before the new attorney entered the courtroom with a news reporter in tow. The idea was to create the “story” of the state not turning over evidence. The story ran in the news, but was misleading. Yes, the defendant knew what the evidence was and had his discovery via his first attorney. They had the discovery for so long, they were on the verge of trial before he changed lawyers. However, the story was sold as if this office was not turning over evidence.

This attorney who brought a reporter with him to court to create this impression, supports my challenger in the election. With the exception of the attorney who called my office and pointed out how he was taken out of context, all of the quoted individuals in the latest article are members of the old office, current co-workers of my challenger or actively financial supporters of my challenger. This is not an objective group as the article would lead you to believe. The machine and the police union have picked this challenger because they know they will get what their contributions have paid for: business as usual. My administration is not business as usual and has not taken contributions or endorsements from the police union. My stance of standing up against all forms of corruption is not a popular position, and I have received death threats because of it.

I make no excuses. Being a prosecutor is tough. Making decisions that affect the lives of people in our community is not taken lightly. In my office, we make very challenging decisions daily. We present the evidence we receive from our partners in the various police departments across Wyandotte County and we work to find a resolution for the victims and their families.

We can’t win every case. When witnesses refuse to testify, recant their previous statements or simply do not show up, a case can unravel. It’s easy to cherry-pick a few cases and hold them up as the example for whatever false narrative my political foes want to push. But again, these are people clinging to the status quo. The challenger is paid for and hand-picked by the machine and the police union to quietly reverse or not enforce the policy changes I have instituted, to take the office back to the way it was when she was there. This should alarm us all.

What I have and continue to have is vision, mission, and purpose of a Wyandotte County where every citizen knows if they have a case in the D.A’s office -either as a victim or a defendant they will receive fair and equitable treatment. The Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office is forging a new path of transparency, fairness, and justice for all. Change is difficult. It doesn’t come without its missteps, misgivings, and recalibrations. But we can’t return to a time when if you held a position of power or knew someone in power, you were not held responsible for your actions. I hope and pray Wyandotte rejects this option.

I was hired by Wyandotte County citizens to do a job. I vow to always focus on safety, community and youth engagement, criminal justice reform, and ensure all Wyandotte County residents have fair treatment with the criminal justice system. And I’ll finish scrapping this old machine with your continued support.

Mark A. Dupree, Sr. is the District Attorney for Wyandotte County, Kansas, 29th Judicial District