KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys released a letter Thursday voicing their concerns about legislation they say could eventually lead to "statewide politicians to meddle in local affairs."
The legislation, which would allow the Missouri Attorney General to have jurisdiction to charge in homicide cases in the city of St. Louis, cleared the Missouri Senate 22-8 early Thursday morning.
On Thursday, some Missouri prosecuting attorneys argued it would set a dangerous precedent.
"The precedent set by this bill is not limited to St. Louis City or prosecutors," 12 Missouri prosecutors said in the statement. Jean Peters Baker and Eric Zahnd, the prosecuting attorneys in Jackson County and Platte County respectively.
"The arguments used to prop up this bill apply equally to any jurisdiction and any political office. What happens when some statewide politician does not like the decisions made by a rural sheriff? Will the Missouri State Highway Patrol be substituted for local law enforcement? The overwhelming number of Missourians already believe that local decisions are better than those made in Jefferson City," they said.
According to reporting by the Associated Press, several senators argued that St. Louis Prosecuting Attorney, Kimberly Gardener is too soft on crime.
“The murder rate is definitely skyrocketing this year,” suburban St. Louis Sen. Andrew Koenig said Wednesday during debate on the bill. “I think the reason why is that criminals think they can get away with stuff."
The ACLU of Missouri also released a statement on Thursday criticizing the bill.
"Under the cover of darkness, the legislature - acting at the behest of an unelected Governor and an unelected Attorney General - decided that the will of the voters simply does not matter and that the Attorney General should have the authority to take cases away from an elected prosecutor," the group said.
In the letter, the prosecuting attorneys also argued they know what's best for the community they serve saying, "As locally elected prosecutors, we know the weight of homicide cases. The costs of this awful provision will not only be dollars; they will be borne by families who do not receive justice as a result of partisan politics in Jefferson City."
The legislation still requires the approval in the Missouri House of Representatives and Gov. Mike Parson's signature.
