What you need to know: Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Race

By Kathy Feist

Property crimes and record homicides have been a hot topic among Kansas City residents in the last few years. For many the shootings at the Chiefs victory parade were an international embarrassment, particularly as we move closer to hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2026. Will Kansas City get crime under control before then?

This election, voters get an opportunity to make a change, as Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker steps down from the position after retaining the seat for 12 years. Do we have candidates tough on crime? Read and decide.

Tracey Chappell

Republican Tracey Chappell, grew up in Alabaster, AL, received a degree in political science from Jacksonville State University and a law degree from the UMKC School of Law. While Senior Assistant County Counselor for Jackson County, Chappell was responsible for civil commitments of the mentally ill. In 2018, she was named the first African American woman to serve as Prosecuting Attorney for Blue Springs. While there, she developed a diversionary program for first time offenders. Chappell currently works as a defense attorney.

She says her 24 years as a criminal defense attorney qualifies her for the job. “I’m ready to work,” she says. She believes the prosecuting attorney race should be nonpartisan. “The job is not Democrat or Republican. It’s to make people safe and put criminals behind bars,” she says.

Property Crimes

Chappell says she would give police the green light to make arrests for property crimes. She says police are frustrated that property crimes are not being prosecuted. “When they know they have a prosecutor who is going to do the job, then they know they can go ahead and make those arrests,” she says. “They will be charged and prosecuted.”

She would like to create a new unit called Community Prosecution which would place prosecuting attorneys in satellite offices in various jurisdictions. She believes this would help connect prosecuting attorneys with police officers early in the investigation phase as well as create camaraderie with the neighborhood. Altogether it would help the PA office earn the trust of neighborhoods and police and provide swifter and more efficient prosecution.

Drug Crimes

Chappell says she plans to prosecute drug cases whether or not violence is involved. “It becomes violent when they cannot get their hands on the drug,” she says. For those that want help, she would refer them to drug court. For those involved in a heinous crime, probation or prison would be on the table. She believes the current system, not prosecuting non-violent drug offenders, creates an upswing in crime and everything it brings with it.

Mental Health Court

Chappell would like to tighten the current system so that prosecuting attorneys can identify when an offender needs to be sent to mental health court. She proposes that police mark files when they felt they were dealing with a mental health episode. This enables prosecuting attorneys to file for a mental health evaluation so the offenders can get the help they need through Mental Health Court as opposed to going through the entire judicial process before requesting an evaluation.

Melesa Johnson

Democrat Melesa Johnson still lives in the neighborhood where she grew up around 41st and Prospect. “I want to stay close to the problems so I can be the solution,” she states in her website. She graduated with a Doctorate of Law degree from the University of Missouri School of Law in 2014. She spent nearly two years as assistant Jackson County prosecutor before joining law firms as an associate in the area.

Johnson is currently Kansas City’s Director of Public Safety, a role she helped create in 2023 that serves as a liaison between City Hall and the Police Department. In 2021 she was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff in the Mayor’s Office. Johnson says “I don’t plan on being soft on crime…I plan on being smart on crime.”

Property Crimes

Johnson acknowledges non-property crimes fall to the bottom of the totem pole compared to violent crimes. To reduce property crime, she would like to create a separate, stand-alone property crimes division in which law students handle the cases under supervision. “The victims feel heard and advocated for. Students get practical experience to supplement their legal education, most importantly, the offenders are charged and held accountable so that we can check criminality before it naturally continues to escalate.”

Drugs

Jean Peters-Baker announced in 2021 that the prosecutors office would not prosecute non-violent drug cases. Johnson feels this is a mistake. She plans on prosecuting cases that involve distribution whether there is violence or not. “When we don’t prosecute those cases, we can’t execute search warrants that allow us to confiscate weapons that can no longer be used in a fatal or non-fatal shooting,” she says. She says Kansas City, KS, has seen a decrease in homicides since they began aggressively prosecuting drug distributors three years ago.

Johnson plans to create a new diversion opportunity program for non-violent drug distributors, called Opportunity Court. “We have Veterans Court, Drug Court, Mental Health [court] already active in Jackson County, but we don’t have a specialty court tailored for the leading root cause of crime, and that is poverty,” she explains. The Opportunity Court would connect offenders with workforce development opportunities and provide conflict resolution training, self defense and financial literacy courses.

Wrongful Conviction

Johnson would like to create an Integrity Unit that decreases wrongful convictions. “Prosecuting attorneys don’t always get it right the first time,” she says. The unit would have a staff attorney exclusively focused on conviction integrity. She would also like to create a safe way on a website for the public to submit exonerating evidence.