Host Latahra Smith will talk about the September 3rd double protest of the KC Freedom Project when they traveled to Jefferson City to file complaints against Jackson County prosecutors Amy McGowan and Dan Hill at the same time demonstrating in KCMO for the discipline of police officers under investigation for their acts.  Supporters of KC Freedom Project called for discipline of the KCMO police officers involved with the 2019 shooting of Cameron Lamb and assault of Brianna “BB” Hill.   If we have concern about crime, that concern includes the fact there can be a fine line between a law enforcement officers and criminals.  If you believe in safety, you can believe we are only safe if all are acting in the best interest of each other. Stay tuned! During the second part of our hour,  we will play from Final Lap Reflections, the September 1st recording by Ricky Kidd as he completes Freedom Lap 2020.   Tune in as Ricky shares insight from his days on the road to raise awareness of the important issue of wrongful convictions.   After 23 years of his own wrongful incarceration, August 15, 2020 was the one-year anniversary of the date Ricky Kidd regained his deserved…

For our show on August 31st, host David Bell talks with the Hon. Sandra C. Midkiff, who was appointed circuit judge in Jackson County, Missouri by Gov. Robert Holden in 2002.  She retired on August 10th, 2020 after serving 18 years on the bench.  Tune in as Judge Midkiff discusses her journey and how she interwove an exceptional mind and warm heart to issue decisions affirming the humanity of all people. We hope you will listen. At the end of our program, you can hear an excerpt from Ricky Kidd’s Freedom Lap 2020.  After 23 years of wrongful incarceration, August 15, 2020 was the one-year anniversary of the date Ricky regained his deserved freedom.  To acknowledge this milestone, he has embarked on a 30-day cross-country tour - Freedom Lap 2020 – to raise awareness of the important issue of wrongful convictions.  At each stop, he is recording an event, interview, or meeting with organizations and press.  Freedom Lap 2020 is a Facebook Live event.  It is all accessible at https://www.resiliencemode.com/take-action. - Calendar for the week of August 31st: In compliance with the latest version of Mayor Lucas’ emergency order, we must ensure necessary public health measures remain in place.  See…

For our show on August 24th, host Teresa Wilke talks with Michael Brouwer, Criminal Justice Coordinator, and Matt Cravens, Data Analyst, both at the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, Douglas County, KS. Mike Brouwer has more than 23 years of experience in providing mental health and criminal justice-related services.   Mike is recognized for his criminal justice efforts at the state and national levels. He has held the position of Criminal Justice Coordinator in Douglas County KS since fall 2019. The Douglas CTY KS Criminal Justice Coordinating Council has hired Matt Cravens as Data Analyst in 12/19 and he is working fast!  Cravens has  worked as a statistician for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Citizenship and Immigration Services in Washington, D.C. Mike Brouwer and Matt Cravens have analyzed Douglas County data on arrests and incarceration.  They will talk on whether the data shows Blacks and Hispanics are arrested and held in numbers disproportionate to the ethnic population of the county. There is need for concern with possible racial discrimination in justice system processing.  If supported by factual data, we can turn our attention to the more important matter—improving the social environmental conditions that foster disproportionate ethnic involvement in crime. https://www.douglascountyks.org/cjcc/about We…

For our show on August 17th, host Margot Patterson had scheduled a talk with Kalfani Ture,  Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Policing at Quinnipiac University, a university located in the middle of the power corridor between Boston and New York City.  He is also a Senior Fellow at the Urban Ethnography Project (UEP) at Yale University. Kalfani Ture was a police officer in Georgia for five years during which he "experienced incidents of racism as a law enforcement officer.”  Ture has said in his 200 hours of training to become a police officer, most of it was dedicated to the use of force.   He is trying to put the Black Lives Matter movement in perspective.  Black people's voices need to be heard. Ture says there is a term used in police circles  - "lawful but awful" – which are killings that may be technically legal but could have been avoided.  Insiders and criminology experts point to police unions as the biggest reason police practices have hardly changed despite the outrage over killings of unarmed black men over the years. Ture has said that the police union somewhat institutionalizes the culture of maybe being a bad cop because it (defends)…

For our show on August 10th, we feature an interesting piece produced by Bill Clause on the topic of police reform.  There is an apparent lack of trust, accountability, excessive use of force, discriminatory policies and practices, and inadequate training of police forces.  The belief that addressing low-level “disorder” to prevent more serious crimes is actually just a form of informal social control. These are just a few issues to get started on.  We hope you will listen. During the second half of our hour, host Ed Pennington speaks with an inmate at Western Missouri Correctional Center, William Condit, #520884, who believes his conviction was based on inappropriate acts of the former Jackson County medical examiner, Michael Berkland, who was active at the time of Condit’s trial.   Police arrested former medical examiner Michael Berkland in 2012 for allegedly keeping crudely preserved human remains in a rented storage unit in Florida.  Justice depends on prosecutors who rely on local law enforcement for evidence in cases they bring. The goal is for law enforcement and local leaders to expand education and awareness, review and improve policing policies/procedures, and build upon community relations and outreach efforts to ensure a high level of trust,…

Host Keith Brown El has written a treatise on gun violence, Real Reasons for Gun Violence Exposed, which you can read at this link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1a8b1IqfUvp7cwNcP1GAyvEw5KO0U3Qdt/view?usp=sharing There are, no doubt, historical and economic reasons for the number of guns and how we use them in our society.  We hope our discussion will lead to positive change.  We ask listeners to call in and add to the discussion.  We hope you can join us. Call (816)931-5534. In the second half of our hour, Terri Wilke will talk with KCK Mayor David Alvey and Commission Harold Johnson about the Unified Government’s new Task Force on Community and Police Relations.  The Task Force plans to help guide discussion and advance dialogue between the community and law enforcement with an objective to help build and strengthen trust between the community and law enforcement. The goal is for law enforcement and local leaders to expand education and awareness, review and improve policing policies/procedures, and build upon community relations and outreach efforts to ensure a high level of trust, interaction, and inclusiveness with all groups and populations in historically diverse Wyandotte County. https://alpha.wycokck.org/Community-Taskforce Calendar for the week of August 3rd: In compliance with the latest version of Mayor…

Having worked as a criminal defense attorney for 40 years, Carl Bussey is a fixture in the courtrooms of Kansas City.  Energetic, friendly, and frequently seen juggling dockets and phone calls - all while working magic for his clients - a casual observer may never come to understand the truly remarkable story that is Carl Bussey.    From being the son of the first Black deputy sheriff and later first Black mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas, to taking the law school entrance exam while stationed as an MP in Panama, Carl’s life experiences have produced some remarkable stories as well as some very timely observations about the criminal justice system today.  We hope you can join us. http://www.legaldirectories.com/Bussey-Carl-W-521420-Atty.aspx The calendar for the week of July 27th: In compliance with the latest version of Mayor Lucas’s emergency order, certain business activities may resume while ensuring necessary public health measures remain in place.  See the FAQS at kcmo.gov. MON, 7/27 Protest for Black Lives At School: 5-7 PM, Dept of Education Building, 110 McDonald Dr, Lawrence KS. This will be a socially distanced protest at the District Office parking lot during the School Board Meeting demands are: Police Free Schools, End Zero Tolerance…

On Monday, July 20, host Craig Lubow interviews two candidates for the upcoming Jackson County District Attorney general election -  incumbent Jean Peters Baker (Democrat) and her challenger Tracey Chappell (Republican Party).  Both are running unopposed in the August 4th Primary Election and so it is likely they will be the candidates in the November general election. Jean Peters Baker has served as Jackson County prosecutor since 2011.   According to the Jackson County Prosecutors’ website, she has cemented a reputation during her tenure as a fearless and compassionate advocate for the victims of crime, especially the young and most vulnerable, and a champion of working with police and community leaders to confront the complex problem of violence. Baker was appointed prosecutor in May 2011 and was elected to the position in November 2012. http://jeanpetersbaker.com/ Tracey Chappell (Republican) is also running for election for Jackson County Prosecutor in Missouri. Chappell served as a Senior Assistant County Counselor for Jackson County, Missouri where she provided legal advice to the County Departments, including the Prosecutor’s Office. While serving, she was responsible for the civil commitments of the mentally ill and gained an intimate understanding of the impact of mental health on the criminal…

Gun Violence will be the subject of a new, statewide journalism project the Kansas City Star has undertaken in Missouri this year in partnership with the national service program Report for America and sponsored by Missouri Foundation for Health.  As part of this effort, the Star is reaching out to the community for help.  Jaws of Justice host, Pat Bartholome, will discuss the project  with the Report for America journalists, Kaitlin Washburn and Jelani Gibson,  and a member of the KC Star editorial board, Toriano Porter.  They will explain the initiative and how to get involved. https://mffh.org/our-focus/gun-violence-prevention/ In the second half of the hour, host Teresa Wilke speaks with Bev Livingston, Founder of Mothers of Incarcerated Sons and Daughters and Janay Reiliford-Davis, Founder - CEO of Camp Choice (Children Having Opportunities in Creating Environment) on the topic of BLACK ON BLACK CRIME.   This is not a new topic for Bev and Janay. Knowing caring people discuss this topic 365 days of the year.  Crime is high in black neighborhoods.   According to the Bureau for Justice Statistics, people living in households with income below the federal poverty threshold are twice as likely to commit a violent crime than people in high-income…

Mary Fox of St. Louis, Missouri,  took office to serve as director of the Missouri State Public Defender System on January 10, 2020. The Missouri State Public Defender System has been in crisis for decades — underfunded and overburdened. The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed a class action lawsuit to limit the number of work week hours required of public defenders.  A system of waitlists limited the number of client meetings each Public Defender held in each work week.  The ACLU filed a new lawsuit in February to end the use of waitlists and alleged there are more than 4,600 people waiting for public defense counsel across the state of Missouri, with 600 of them sitting in jails. Despite the waitlist, public defenders still feel overwhelmed. Another possible solution has been proposed for the chronic crisis in the public defender system: change the way cases are prosecuted. People-centered approaches to keeping non-violent offenders out of the criminal justice system would help the Public Defender’s office use its limited resources. https://publicdefender.mo.gov/   After the murder of her son, Corey Laykovich, Michelle Metje founded “Corey’s Network” as a way to support the families of homicide victims.  “You either move forward…