Jean Peters Baker

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker talks about Kevin Strickland and the development of the county's new detention center, and a local competition winner whose ideas could protect thousands of children.

Kevin Strickland remains in prison despite the presence of exonerating evidence.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Backer wrote a letter of support, saying police have “no accountability to our community.”

The Black Lives Matter social movement has created a sea change in who holds prosecutors accountable and how they publicly handle police excessive force cases.

Days after the Jackson County Prosecutor announced she will not bring charges against a Kansas City police officer who shot and killed an unarmed Black man in March 2020, protestors took to the streets.

Derrick D. Wren Jr., 28, was charged Wednesday with shooting three-year-old Marcus Haislip III in May 2017. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker urged people to find other ways to resolve conflicts than “to pick up a gun.”

The number of fatal crashes in Kansas City involving marijuana has doubled in the last two years. Kansas City police are worried that a de-emphasis on marijuana possession enforcement could keep the number high.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker dismissed 31 counts against a towing company owner after audio surfaced of Brad Lemon, president of the Fraternal Order of Police, threatening criminal action if a family car wasn't immediately released.

The officer is charged with using excessive force against the teenager, who pleaded ‘I can’t breathe.’

Lucas says planning for the violence prevention framework has been in the works for nearly a year, but some neighborhood groups say the announcement took them by surprise.

It is not just homicides that are vexing Kansas City police. Non-fatal shootings are up 26% year-to-year, according to KCPD data. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker says casework is filed in only 19% of those attacks. She calls that "a pathetically small number."

The killing of 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot while asleep in his bed, is among the many violent crimes during a summer of record-breaking homicides and heartbreak.