Mean Jean Justifies Jackson County Prosecutor's Office Productivity

In the midst of a historic Kansas City homicide spike, today's post from the courthouse attempts highlight effective prosecutions with data.

Here's the premise and talking points that are likely to be repeated as horrific numbers keep adding up:

"It’s never been more important that we dig deeper into this jurisdiction’s homicide data to inform our community about how to deal effectively with our violence problem. Increasing arrests and prosecution of homicides is a necessary part of any safe community. Prosecutions can address the harm done to victims and community. I’ve witnessed this happen in the prosecutions I’ve handled personally. But arrest and prosecution alone are not the only solutions to this complex problem of violence.  To best protect our community, we must employ all solutions to reducing homicides, including intervention and prevention efforts."

Here's' the main point for locals who are gluttons for crime & punishment . . .

In our 2022-23 analysis, our office disposed of 123 homicides during the 14-month period. This represents an incredible 58% increase in disposed cases. In the 22-23 analysis, we averaged 8.8 homicides per month, compared to about 5 homicides disposed per month in 2019.

This shows that my office, with no additional staff, is greatly boosting their workload and disposal of homicide cases. We certainly feel this workload and I constantly worry about the weight on our staff, but it is a significant accomplishment for the public. And it’s effective.

This analysis bolsters that when we file a case, the community can expect that we will achieve a fair conviction. These are hard fought results with skillful public servants in this office. Of the 123 disposed homicides during the 14-month study period, five defendants were found not guilty by a jury. An important note regarding those 5 acquittals is that four of those five defendants were co-defendants in two homicides, meaning more than one defendant was charged. In both those homicides, another defendant was convicted of the homicide. In other words, someone was held accountable for those violent crimes.  

This is comparable to the 2019 findings: only one defendant was found not guilty by a Jackson County jury. As stated above, the defendant ended up being held accountable in federal prison. Overall, 85.4% of our disposed cases resulted in a conviction, even counting the four co-defendants. In 2019, that conviction rate was 98.4%, as only one defendant was found not guilty at trial.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Jackson County Prosecutor's Office Blog: A Deeper Look Into Our Outcomes in Prosecuting Homicides