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The Missouri Justice Coalition is crisscrossing the state, with stops already in Kansas City, to raise awareness about conditions inside prisons and build support for reform legislation.
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At least 105 people have died behind bars in Missouri so far this year. Beginning next month, the Missouri Justice Coalition is going around the state — including a stop in Kansas City — to focus on prison conditions and outline the case for reform.
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Johnson County is adding two specialty courts that will focus on treating underlying conditions that may have contributed to criminal behavior, with the hope of reducing recidivism.
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As Kansas City explores constructing a new municipal jail, prison experts say the city has an opportunity to take a different approach to crime. Kansas City has long used its municipal jail for those who violate city codes, but the vast majority of inmates are nonviolent offenders.
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Over the course of a three-and-a-half year period, Kansas police have taken more than $25 million in property and cash believed to be part of a crime — even if the victims are never charged. But critics say that civil asset forfeiture is being used unnecessarily and without proper oversight.
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Gov. Mike Parson is expected to sign a bill that could expand the eligibility and payout for Missourians who have been wrongfully convicted and exonerated, as long as they waive their right to sue the state. Experts say the bill is an improvement, but still wouldn't help very many people.
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A bill proposed by Missouri state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville) would increase and widen the state's compensation for exonerees under the condition they not file a lawsuit. But Tricia Rojo Bushnell, executive director for the Midwest Innocence Project, said the bill still won't fix many of the state's problems.
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Amendment 3 legalized recreational marijuana in Missouri. It also required all nonviolent marijuana-related misdemeanors and felonies to be expunged by June 8 and December 8, respectively. But the state doesn’t know how many cases are left, and experts say the courts aren't equipped to handle those that remain before June or December.
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The Mayor's Commission on Reparations met for the first time on Tuesday, May 23 at City Hall. The group’s task is to study how slavery and racial segregation policies over the last century harmed Kansas City’s Black citizens in areas such as education and housing.
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As Kansas City sees increasing rates of gun violence, some local officials and activists are looking for ways to help the formerly incarcerated reenter the work force, clean their record, and find a way out of "a cycle of violent crime.”
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This year saw the arrest and indictment of retired Kansas City, Kansas, police detective Roger Golubski. Gun violence and homicides continued to plague Kansas City, something that the new KCPD chief is ready to tackle. A look at the biggest criminal justice stories of the year.
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Missouri’s Amendment 3 laid out specific deadlines for expungement provisions, but courts and legal advocates say there are still unanswered questions about how exactly the process will work.