Melesa Johnson, who promised to combat Kansas City’s high violence rate with aggressive prosecution and crime prevention, easily won the Jackson County Prosecutor’s race on Tuesday to become the first Black woman in the job. Johnson, 35, who emphasized her roots in the city’s urban core, will replace prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, who has held […]
Peggy Lowe
I’m a veteran investigative reporter who came up through newspapers and moved to public media. I want to give people a better understanding of the criminal justice system by focusing on its deeper issues, like institutional racism, the poverty-to-prison pipeline and police accountability. Today this beat is much different from how reporters worked it in the past. I’m telling stories about people who are building significant civil rights movements and redefining public safety. Email me at lowep@kcur.org.
Posted inElections
Melesa Johnson wins Democratic primary for Jackson County Prosecutor: ‘It’s time for change’
Melesa Johnson, a young lawyer who grew up in Kansas City’s Oak Park neighborhood and promised change for communities affected by crime, won a three-way race in the Democratic primary Tuesday, Aug. 6 for Jackson County Prosecutor. Johnson, who currently serves as Mayor Quinton Lucas’ director of public safety, beat John Gromowsky, an assistant county […]
Posted inLocal Government
Kansas City, Kansas, let police exploit Black people, lawsuit says
Five Black women filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. The suit contends that officials permitted an “open and notorious police protection racket” to victimize the Black community while detectives committed “regular acts of humiliation and exploitation.” Filed late Friday, the 138-page suit names four […]