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Hi good evening, welcome to Launching Justice
Conversations with district attorney candidates hosted by the players coalition
We appreciate everyone being here and a special Thank You to Clayton High School for graciously hosting us today.
The players coalition is an independent 501 C 3 501 C 4 organization working with professional athletes
Coaches and owners across leagues through social justice and racial equality in our country.
Their work is focused on free people police and community relations, criminal justice reform and education and economic advancement.
The players coalition is solution oriented and members invest significant time and resources to educate themselves
in varrious issues impacting their communities. To identify where their influence can have greatest impact.
Regretably, Chris Long, a leader in the Player's Coallition and member of the Philadelphia Eagles' flight was canceled earlier today... and second flight as well.
Tonight's forum will be moderated by Judge Michael Wolf.
Judge Michael A Wolf is an attorney former, Missouri Supreme Court judge and chief justice and professor and Dean Emeritus at St Louis University Law School.
His current practice involves select matters related to litigation
Governmental affairs and public interest Law. Wolf served for 13 years on the Supreme Court of Missouri
from 1998 to 2011
Including two years as chief justice from 2005 to 2007. He returned to the
He returned to the faculty of St. Louis University in 2011, and became Dean of the Law School in 2013 serving until 2014.
Please welcome our moderator [Hon. Michael A Wolf]. (applase)
Thank you, it's really nice to be here and I just want to start out by saying
Thank you to the Players Coalition. I'm sitting in even though I am NOT
nor have I ever been a professional football player. I want to make that clear
in case anyone would mistake me as
Something else and
So I know that
The Players Coallition including Chris long can take a great interest
in the issues that are raised in prosecutors races
Because of their beliefs that our Justice System is in a sense broken. Mass incarceration,
the school to Prison Pipeline
cash bail, police shootings, that continue to plague
various communities around the country including
St. Louis County, the State of Missouri
in fact the whole country. So it's our most vulnerable and and historically marginalized communities within our region.
People of color, people living in poverty
Who are most harmed by the system
More than any other governmental official, it is the elected Prosecuting Attorney who has the power to shape
And to change criminal justice policy,
Because every day that the prosecuting attorney makes decisions
That have an enormous impact this county.
Prosecuting attorney and his staff decides who is charged and with what crime. He decides who gets diverted away from the criminal justice system and who must carry the burden of a criminal conviction.
He decides when to seek prison sentences and for how long?
The prosecuting attorney decides whether the seek rehabilitation or the emphasize retribution.
It's clear that the prosecuting attorney is power the power to prosecute
And the power to sentence but also the power to seek mercy and second chances.
With this is most responsibility to the public with your votes, all of you,
You will decide who will be your prosecuting attorney, for that reason. We are pleased to have the opportunity to,
To, at least, hear from one of the candidates, for this IMPORTANT office.
I should say that, Introducing the candidates. I'll start by saying the incumbent, Bob MuCcullogh, we've kept a chair for him,
...in case he does show up...
I got this assignment just a short while ago, and sent an email saying "Why don't you come?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bob, by the way, has served as prosecuting attorney in St Louis County, this is his 28th year
I did the math the county became a
separate county in 1876.
So that he served roughly fifteen percent of the time the county has been in existence.
for those who are keeping score but here with us today Most importantly is
Here with us Today, Importantly is
Wesley Bell.
Who is a candidate running against Bob McCullogh in
The primary in AUGUST
He's running as a present black defense attorney, he's a City Council member in Ferguson he's running the first time for Prosecuting Attorney
Graduating from University of Missouri Columbia School of Law
Wesley Bell started his career at the Special Public Defender's office.
In 2013. He was Appointed as A Judge and later as a Municipal Clerk Prosecutor Riverview Missouri.
Later, they consolidated and He's been a Prosecutor to Consolidated Municipal Courts.
He has been criticized for his roles there. Where he implemented Uniform Fine Schedules across St Louis County,
as well as presided over the first court to implement a universal amnesty program for citizens.
Recall of all Municipal warrants after 2014.
In 2015 the city of Ferguson elected Wesley Bell as a city councilman
He played a key role in part of negotiation the City of Ferguson with the Department of Justice.
He helped to negotiate and passed the Ferguson consent decree
Which had brought the most comprehensive community policing and court reforms in the region to the city of Ferguson.
Wesley Lives in Fergusson. He's an alumnus of Hazelwood High School East and then Lindenwood University.
So that is my introduction of
Wesley Bell
he is going to Start us off.
You're the only candidate here today. So we're going to have him to an opening statement of a couple minutes just to
introduce yourself to this fine audiance and then
The Players Coalition has provided me with a list of penetrating questions
We'll have a more robust discussion Here, but also in the audience you'll see
That are 3x5 cards and if you have questions
Discussion continues please write your questions
We are available to ask the question take those up
Toward the end of the presentation so, your opening statement
Wesley Bell
First thank you for being here. Thank you for the Players Coalition for hosting this
Thank you for being our "Super-Sub"
Chris long actually sent me a tweet apologizing... for NOT being here... I thought that was really cool!
So, my name is Wesley Bell, I do serve as
a Ferguson City Councilman Ward 3
I did serve on the negotiating committee
to not only help write,
and also pass the consent decree and
Bringing
Community policing to
St Louis County as well as Court Reforms and not just in Ferguson were working to bring these types of reforms throughout the region
And so we know that there's more to do
We look from wence we came. I think you can see
tangible
Strides in the right direction, but again, I want to emphasize we got more to do
Also, I
Started my career as a public defender
Through under grad. I interned in the public defender's office special and the special Public Defender's Office
Once I graduated. So I got a chance to work
Not only in the City and the County, and some rual areas.
Working with this prosecutors office
People say "You didn't work in that particular office,'
To be quite frank, that was a choice that I made
Because I couldn't work in that office
With the things I saw they were doing, we're going to talk about,
During this event , debate...
The things going on in that office,
I would have been fired!
Because I couldnot, would not have stood by them.
(phone rings)
In addition to working with this Prosecutor's office with him working in just about every capacity in the criminal justice system
What I've seen is that the system is broken. There is a strong need for reform,
And just like a lot of people in this room
August 2014 was an awakening moment for a lot of us. As a younger attorney at that time. I
I do think there were problems an many of our courts,
I didn't know scope of it and so I'm not proud to be one of the people along with meeting people in this room
Once we were made aware of these problems
Many of us stepped up to the plate and we're continuing to do that because this is something that we continue
Continue to be working toward.
Moderator: Thank You (applause).
Coallition Topics:
Policing accountability and really getting to the issue of racial disparities
let's face it throughout that's very discriminatory policing continues to drive racial disparities in
The criminal justice system in St. Louis County only 25% of the population is black but black drivers
account for about I think 40% of vehicular stops
They're also searched arrested and jailed at a higher rate than whites. Even though white drivers are more likely to
Illegal items in their car. So the first question comes from that is if elected prosecuting attorney
If elected Prosecuting Attorney, how will you use your
prosecutorial discretion
To eliminate discriminatory policing practices?
Wesley Bell: Well one thing that we know that that is the fact that
African-americans are much more likely to be to come contact justice system than Whites.
We know that.
Growing up in North st. Louis County. I was one who was pulled over several times
Taken out of the car the car searched and look at it from my perspective
I was not a threat to anyone.
I was a typical kid, talking to girls on the phone because that's how we did it back then
Talk to them on the phone,
Playing Techmoble, these are the kind of things that I did as a teenager. And so I was I was pulled over if enough
in my
teenage to young, in my early 20's
I didn't think there was I didn't he was a big deal
And I think I've told the story before I literally did not know that there was something wrong until I got to Law School
And I'm reading the case lon. I promise this wasn't relevant
So we know that this happened we know that this happens.
African American males make up About 8% of the population in Missouri, but yet make up close to 40% of the prison population
So we know that these racial disparities exist. We know that they must be addressed and I think that it starts with transparency.
if I can be on the reservation ex-prosecutor
We're going to publish we're going to publish the data with respect to who we're prosecuting
Houthi who's being pulled over those being arrested?
Because I think that's the way that you can address the issues that is that if you're open and honest and transparent
About what you're doing. How do you improve your practices?
if you don't know what your practices are, you're not being honest and if there are individual prosecutors that are
That are
Doing these kind of practices then they need to be corrected or potentially removed
I know that there's a lot of prosecutors in that office that I know that
I'm going to say well, but there's there's several that need to go
I'm just gonna say that but there's something
will benefit from a change of culture and you can tell me some people that we need to bring in but
These are issues that I think start with transparency
Start with publishing his death
start with
Being clear with our policies and making sure that everyone knows what those costs
Especially
2014 no one threw out the packet for the police involved shooting of Michael Brown
as well as the fact that the officer Darren Wilson's time of
death so
We should totally start with a very high-profile case, but we know that
there continue to be
Young black men a Department of Justice investigation found frequent instances
of excessive use of force used together people of color in this community including
Unnecessary use of Tasers and canines with no fear from law enforcement that there would be consequences for their calm for the common
So police accountability then this is police Clare's quality concern is urgently that communities all over the country
Faces they look to local officials
Especially the prosecuting attorney to break the cycle. So the question is will even investigating police accountable for misconduct
Including fatal shootings of the use of excessive force and I suppose it's fair to ask
So
First and foremost this must be clear the prosecutor's office and offers and officers work very closely together
even working in the municipal courts
a lot of officers and there is
Inherently, there's going to develop
friendships and
Again, there is a there is a clear conflict of interest when you work that closely together
So first and foremost with with cases of all the shootings you we have to implement a policy
of a special prosecutor
As much as I trust myself
As much as I trust myself to be fair it's not just about me and
One thing that we do in the community policing initiative
I'm going to digress just for a second is that we host use on the police simulator and that's so that people can come in
charge
Interact with officers ask tough questions and start building some of those
In bridging some of those divides
One of the officers that I worked with captain farmers become one of my best friends
and so someone accused captain farmers using excessive force as
fair as I think that I can be
inherently
There's going to be some doubt my life because I've know him because he's a he's a friend of mine. And so
We have to implement policies that actually work that hold people accountable just like everyone in this room is held accountable
For their actions even our officers
We have the toughest job in the world and you want to give them all the support that they need
But they still need to count
they live in tomorrow and
so in addition to a policy of having special prosecutor when I think is most
Important of going back to the theme of the day the transparency is that we are going to have a policy
That's crazy enough to like prosecutors
The players coalition it was concerned about the wanted system that they say exists Inquisitor st
Louis County or the detain people
Who?
Prosecuted monster park even though the individual is being detained. That is a crime
It's a practice that seems to get to
disproportionately affect minorities people of color at first, what do you think of this practice and
How extensive is its issue then would you have so don't want a system is a way of
Award without
warrant
it's a way for to say well, we just we're not arresting them which is
They just wanted for questioning and I believe it's unconstitutional. I think that it I think it's
personal and I
Cases that come
And I think that's some of what the prosecutor's office can do. We can't change every practice, but we can change the behavior
If officers know that if you are accusing the wanted system, we're not going to issue all most cases and as a former public defender
I've been frustrated with the warning system
The very credit that notion of equal access to justice
And it's often the times of justices to arm and neither people thought about
Which person is the biggest impact on communities of color meaning worse? They already start racial disparities in the criminal justice system
So we criminalize poverty through such policies as cash bail
pin and fines and fees
It was lead to jail time is nothing more than a failure to pay the money
So let's talk first about the cash bail system every day
Chained to those common people are jailed simply because they can't afford bail and poor people get locked up
Well people who have access to mind remain free pending trial
So these are people who are really accused of a crime
In many cases people were jailed never get charged with anything or have their charges dismissed by the prosecuting attorneys
It's aliens County over a thousand people sat in jail
estrellita after Kasich suspended or not prosecuted say you said I think previously that you
Support family form and people should not be just solely because they can't afford to pay bail
So what changes how would you change that and would you apology?
So first and foremost is to make sure every y-yeah understands what we're talking about
So bail is not meant to be a form of punishment
It's been to ensure the accused the accused presence throughout different of justice process again, not for punishment purposes
and so
what we're so essentially
What we're seeing is that this system has a disproportionate
one poor people I
Understand let me think this through the murderer with means gets out Wow
Nonviolent offender who has
no threat to
to
the community is stuck in jail because they can't afford to pay a
$500,000 pie
Think about a single mother who?
Has monkeys and she accused of some?
think about and that has
Not only is she
very likely to lose or he likely to you lose their child because
Media, maybe have jobs that aren't just gonna wait for him
If you just doesn't show up for three days or a week or a few weeks
You may lose your housing. Let's think about those two. You might lose your kids
let me think about that if you don't have
a support system which many of us don't have
And your kids are now do yours you're incarcerated for?
You may very well
encounter
Serious hardships and in an addition what research also shows is that if it's short for instance days increase the likelihood of reoffending
So so to be clear in no uncertain terms
The cash bail system does not work
my office will not
We will not oppose mine reductions for nonviolent offenders
We will work and we will have McKay to in the cash flow system actually
No, the judge makes the final decision
but the prosecutor's office has a lot of weight in in that decision and so our our office collateral policy of
more of a risk-based
palpable our office without risk based policy issues said and that is if someone
poses a serious threat to the community because there's factors that were
Severity of the crime we look at are they a threat to the community?
We also look at but also risk of fire
and so what we're going to do is if if someone posts a threat to the community are there a risk of like that our
Position will mean that they should not be released
But if there are non public defender and you see this wait far too often people who are where the
Prosecutor's office knows that they are going to offer
probation and they're still asking for a cash bond so our officers we know that someone is looking at
Probation and that the recommendation is likely to be probation. We will not ask for a cash bond
And again with violent offenders that's different
if someone is
accused of a murder or
Sexual assault or things of that nature our position is that they should not be released and I don't want it
I don't want it depending on the amount of money they have or don't
Some jurisdictions around the country have a
Prosecutor's office has a list of offenses for which things you will not
ask for
Is probably something that we could we could look into and so it obviously
I
read some of
Mr. Krasner's stuff which I've been very impressed again
I'm not coming up with this stuff doing my research now. I was there were some philosophies that that I agree with
I think that there's a lot of people around the country that are doing good work
So now I do I do think that it would be a good policy to list some of those
Be specific and again, it goes back to be transparent
Just like
People
Unpaid fines and fees as we've seen in this community in the municipal system
Even for something that - a traffic ticket can leave this suspended driver's licenses
So I think this problem is of course Satan is kind of much of a dozen comments
So the prosecuting attorney chocolate supply that is municipal
But it's it doesn't breed the distrust of police within the communities in this county. So
There are these kind of harsh
consequences and so I guess the question for
Prosecuting attorney candidate is will you commit to like not seeking a fine?
For RP as part of sentencing recommendation and the cases that you do now
First before most weird enacted from the last pocket
Between fines and restitution restitution is about making a victim hole if your windows busted
replacing that window would be
Restitution we're talking about five eyes are punitive in nature those that money goes to the government
Believe that we need to look at
Let me just be clear
As an office we will not see fines
We will not see times
Again we know the data they have a disparate impact on poor people people of color and
Policies that work and these policies that bitch not to work they have a
they have an
effect that
increases recidivism rates because all too often people on probation which we lacking talked about are being revoked for
reasons such as
So he review basically against
incarcerated 7/4 a
Find entities let's check real evidence that they've they're purposely. There's going to be convincing evidence that they purposely
What we research
Really very performances and the problem of mass incarceration of course is made
Addictions are treated as criminal matters
By the policeman for the police and courts channel, which I think in substance isn't very good policeman courts
But that's another topic but research really consistently shows that
Incarceration doesn't address does not address fictions
It only exacerbates
cycles of poverty
and I think the data that the players coalition came up with for Missouri is a thirty five percent of people sent to our
Private system of Jacob prisons percent they're explicitly for drug treatment
So this aggressive prosecution of drug possession was has really to be able to increase public safety
and enforcement of laws that disproportionately
Impact people have covered though. That's the players coalition. I think there David got pretty solid on that
Was respected interlock
We've recently had come to decriminalizing in small quantities, but in 2016, there were two thousand people
Charged in jail for possessing marijuana or other drugs apparently and rather than being diverted away from the criminal justice system
Into opportunities for treatment. So the question is you think can you or would you the first that you've been off reconversion?
To all the possessed controlled substances my dealers happen people who are arrested for possession
So that there are people who are arrested with drugs and I'm prosecuted in the first place
but are given chances to avoid criminal histories and
Thus fail
first I'd like to ask who in here has either a family or friend or known someone touched by the
opioid crisis or heroin
You know
We have to stop treating these we have to stop treating addiction as a criminal matter
Anyone who's heard me speak before knows that the biggest platform issues and promises
Say this for you. I don't believe it campaign promises. I don't believe in alternate facts or promises of price
and we are going to
implement diversionary programs such as twig or programs mental health programs
One because they keep us safer - they save us money, but most importantly be healthy
The biggest demographic of offenders are the offenders
You know that and so let me give nonviolent offenders the treatment that they need they are
Drastically less likely to progress to by the crimes and so as a policy matter
My office will not issue on this to be the marijuana possession cases. So let me just put that out there. It's being recorded
But we're in that we're going with focus
We want to focus our research resources on the serious and bottom offenders and there's so many resources that are taken up by
Prosecutions of a small possession even misdemeanor
Amounts of marijuana and things of that nature if someone has a drug problem
Instead of a conviction which increases the likelihood that we're saying give me the treatment
And we want to do what would I have to do is pre-charged
pre-charged diversionary programs because even the stigma of being arrested
are being charged the stigma of
conviction obviously
We see that the impact that it has on people as we try to get jobs as they try to reenter society even after
These matters are resolved. So we're going to
You see someone with a drug problem
we're gonna get rid of the treatment that they need and we're going and what we're going to do is
Because currently and the drug court program
There's only 75 people and when you put that into perspective out of five to six thousand cases filed last year
Only 75 people are into a treatment and the gatekeepers for who gets in is the county prosecutor silence
There's never been a commitment to these kind of programs
In the middle health docket is even worse there's only 12 people
Same thing prosecutor's office decides who gets in and who doesn't and it's they're sorely underutilized
and it again it it's it's a travesty it really is because we look at in the last two to three years close to
2600 deaths from opioids and or will be factored in Harrow as well. This is a issue
This is an issue that needs to be interesting because not only does it keep the state figures were serious about the big crime prevention
but again
it also helps people and we have to start we have to start looking at it from from from a standpoint of
policies that work this double prong approach
that
certain people have tried to
espouse
We've seen our higher primate crime rates higher homicide rates
More drug deaths and at some point we have to say whenever we want to get serious about
Really addressing this issue
Farik courts, and I'm not sure that applies to this county, but it certainly when somebody goes to drug her
And they're there they put them through a lot of pieces. The question is what he do other than the
There's a lot of them fail and the problem that I saw with our clerk in very violator. Was that 170 failed poker?
The next stop was the prison
We don't punish people for heaven for falling out of permission of their being treated for cancer
We do punish people who have addictions and fall off where?
And I think that we have to address that issue in our TV program and understand
Relapse is a part of the process
We can't you know, my office will not
just kick someone out of the program and prosecute them simply because they have
You know they encountered
Also, we see in the prosecutor's office
now the drug treatment program which is sort of the utili has cost about
$1500 and that caused and there are a few grants but by and large that causes is has to be paid for by the
Participant and we know people will judge issue. Sometimes have money issues, right?
you know that that happens and not pain is
grounds for making the move from the program and so that we have to we have to include
Potential relapse in our drug treatment program you have to endeavor to make them free of charge
particularly for
economically challenged
or communities
Because in Keene this makes us safer
It saves us money because it costs about thirty thousand a year your car serrated
You can make you say ten to fifteen thousand per individual when you use these kind of programs. But again,
That's we're dying opioid drugs prescription medications and also era
So one of the specific questions is
Would you have an office-wide policy which is called Good Samaritan policies?
so there's a person who's with a person who's
Taking heroin which starts overdose
Costs and police
question is does that person get in trouble when she calls the police and says either selling Arizona's I
mean again
another recurring theme
People to report overdoses we don't want them to live in fear be prosecuted so
The next step
Injection sites
should we have places for people to show up and
where is and
Get their judgment
Looking at drug addiction as a criminal matter. It is a public health epidemic and if the legislature passes
legislation establishing safe injection attacks as the prosecutor
One of the
Charging decisions and sentencing the prosecutors relevance passing the players coalition
Notes and I think it's a fair statement that people are more are really more than the worst
Professional athletes
Give them to her
That's the worst thing that they've done is who they are
So what we want to see is that reflected in the charging and sentencing decisions and prosecutors
so the question is about
Favoring referee ability over retribution other words
Get better rather than simply punishing them providing second chances
Avoiding needlessly harsh sentences, so but prosecutors around the country regularly
Overcharge defendants to pressure them to give up their constitutional rights and to plead guilty
So sometimes even innocent people are likely to plead guilty
When fighting their charges it might lead to a much more substantial sentence
So should there be a policy that charges the least serious?
Acceptable will fence in each case so that we prevent this. How do you remember over charger?
Just make sure we're all on the same page so
prosecutors have discretion on
Not only what is charged, but how many charges?
and oftentimes
You know whether there is a a felony or B. Felony
and so what we see
And I've seen this our memory cakes that I had as a public defender not actually still know this gentleman today
He got to go fight and he was charged with a misdemeanor assault
The prosecutor now, I think most people know if you get a misdemeanor without priors, you generally going to get probation
So the prosecutor came to me and said if your client doesn't take three months in jail
- my understanding never confirms that
The other gentleman was in the fight will had some kind of relationship to someone in the prosecutor's office. I'm not sure about that
Either way the prosecution said if your client doesn't take three months in jail for misdemeanor, no priors
We're going to dismiss every file it as a felony
and so now
Is now potentially facing jail time or
A feminine I have one other quick ended. Okay and had a client who?
was
He was charming
He was looking at seven years
but we because it was a prior persistent offender meet again been charged before the
Prosecutors threatening said if he doesn't take the five years we would have you we're gonna be found as a prior offender
He could be looking at fifteen years. That's just not right. We have to assess the cases determined. What is fair and
Protected with nonviolent offenses. Why would we err on the Lord and
the
Of these sentencing are of the range of punishment
but I think most importantly of
From long ago is to say if you plead guilty you'll get mercy if you plead
If you if you go to trial and are found guilty you get justice
First I've been practicing for 17 years of it's not a joke
I've been practicing for 70 years of those two anecdotes. You can do the math and determine who the prosecutors
You know, you mentioned the cost of prison
in Missouri
And I have to say that 25 years ago and what's working the governor's office?
The prison population was rate was thirteen or fourteen thousand now, it's thirty one thousand
and I heard recently the
director of the department of reference why they
Say that we have a choice right now we can either
Keep doing what we're doing and build kind of more prisons over the start reform
what it is, so
particularly
accumulated in the female population
We are we are number one
number one
Again and indeed all of the things that we talked about
Are not the panacea or the cure-all, but they called address ending mass incarceration
We
Refuse to issue my case invest in just from a marijuana possession
those are ways to
Help with racial profile, but they also help with help us address this issue of mass incarceration
Diversionary programs when we start saying that hey instead of incarceration
We're going to give treatment and in my treatment programs as the prosecutor. We're also going to bed job readiness programs
These are ways that we start to address these issues of mass incarceration
The we are the high state with respect to females being incarcerated and I think we're
Within in the country just in general
So we have some issues
we some realities in this state that need to be addressed but across the country and
So I think that all the things that we talked about
Probation but even the probation and
Because again, we talk about diversionary programs so
Well, here's what it's gonna cost for this
Sentence
When I was having them is very sentencing Advisory Commission. We did that some years ago put it into the
Report that stuns sentencing assessment report on that's reference killed in there. The prosecutors were absolutely
What to say if you've got a five-year prison sentence, it's going to cost you money, right?
so
but if of probation said it's going to be a
couple of thousand dollars a year or whatever so you think we have to tell them that
Entered you as a prosecutor to take that. Oh god
Let me say they said I had a criminal justice department saying this community college
So I've been teaching I've been teaching at the community college for about eight years now
One thing that I learned is that you put everything on that syllabus
Because the student hasn't complained you could say. Hey, here's the syllabus if you saw it
And alleviates a lot of progress and it's not using the same
line of thinking when I say we have to be transparent with everything that we're doing because they
Everyone knows and sees and you predict exactly what's going to happen with our office
And so we publish that information we can make it public
we will also what I intend to do is set up an advisory committee for the prosecutor's office with a
Cross-section of people from all different fields to be able to address or to look at the things we're doing right things at work tomorrow
The things that we can be doing better
So again transparency transparency transparency
And
we you know st. Louis Missouri was
You know about fourth country, I thinkin
over time and we had a
Period of time a few years ago when we had a lot of executions and we've got ourselves Williams who?
democratic state his
execution
So the question is what a policy would your office gather with respect to seeking the death penalty because you just not see it so
two things
We know that too many who have been exonerated
After wrongful convictions, we know that it costs too much to pack taxpayer dollars
We know that it isn't the deterrent effect that it was made to be
and
Again, that's what positive Network
Another area touches on something that's been very much in the news the last few days that is immigration and
a plea of guilty or conviction
Has profound implications for people who are not citizens of the United States
And so the question is would you be agreeable would you be committed to offering diversion programs?
For those low and mid level offenses
so they can
be
Dealt with in the criminal justices without having a requirement that they have been guilty
And that's when I kind of addressed that before when I talked about the fee charged diversion
that's another positive byproduct of those kind of programs because people get to
avoid
the actual charge which could cause
Yes for the game talk about offenders, we're not talking about murderers rapists
about
Because they weren't aware of their rights
entered into plea or entered into a
Diversionary program like insane was telling to a court we usage we have to admit guilt
And question is how we handle the prosecution of children
the Supreme Court interestingly enough in the cases involving the death penalty and
life
parole sentences for people who are in only they're
recognized as the brains of young people
Haven't fully developed so that it has been deemed to be cruel and unusual to give them the ultimate penalty
and that
deviled egg research bears itself, ah those of us who have
Been young and those of us who have raised young men know the truth of that
But so the question is
How do you handle the?
disparities here in the county
racial disparities about how offenders are treated
Because we have a justice department here looking at
How black children only a third of the population?
Referrals
prosecution from the juvenile system
How didn't do that I didn't take care of any pink bias out of the system
I suppose
Specifically maybe we look at aged
desert aged for example with you or
Commit to like not transferring somebody into the adult
If they're sixteen years of age your honor, I mean that's one kind of specific question
Absolutely you talk to an educator so
so first and foremost, I
support raising the age to 18
Currently if you're charged if you're 17 years over your child a crime to be
prosecuted the adult court
And that means - that needs to go in, Missouri
Missouri you can't enter into a contract until you're 18, but if you
The prosecutor's office doesn't have of
Decision-making in the juvenile court, obviously the legal officers as the prosecutors are called in juvenile court are not
under the purview of the County Prosecutor's Office
However, the prosecutors do get to make a recommendation in a certification hearing certification hearing being and legal
Officers want to have a juvenile charged as an adult and so our offices policy will will be that
Kids should stay in
Juvenile court they gave him appropriate
That may exclude those who are charged with a capital offense or something really serious crime
But I think most of the other crimes
Makes you stand the juvenile system II
You know a really good conversation about this particular issue
recently unless it doesn't even talk about you can see there's crimes a
Kid, you know that's 15 or 16 that commits some horrible act
Do you think that's normal for 16 year? I don't think so
I think that it goes if up to 15 or 60 year olds to make something like that. There's some mental health issues
and one thing that is
that other states
Implement or I learned are dual trusteeship
laws where
Someone if they are
The
Defender
When I was in college and a junior has to get them just to sit still or
Do a simple assignment. So to to expect that they understand the intricacies and complexities
some of our some of our laws is just
Insane and so love there should be a parent present when you have somebody who is going to be sentenced
Lose a turn
and there in the
They don't work for a serious crime
Should we should we treat them as though they're adults for the purpose of giving them a really long?
Sentence or would you cut that off in a shorter term in terms of your recommendation to the court?
I think we have young people committing the series of crimes like that. We have to give them the treatment that they need
That needs to be the focus
Because again a 15 year old that is committing heinous crimes or something. There's something more than just the fairies intent
and I think that and that's what I want to talk about doing jurisdiction and things of that nature is so that we can
So you haven't a juvenile who was sent to the adult court and so now in a dual
jurisdiction
Jurisdiction, if you will they are able to receive
The the same services that they were received in the juvenile court, which is all about rehabilitation
And that's one thing that we had to distinguish between the two when I'm covering the adult board
But you cannot produce about rehabilitation. You don't go to jail
If you're a juvenile you get treatment so even places like dy has a new vision a few services
We're still talking about a place where kids ain't going, but they're still going to get their education
And when you read and I read a lot
And all of
It's exactly that that's all the evidence said my show
they
just add
And the law says that you eat
attorneys, both sides actually should turn over all
Our evidence and so we can't cherry pick what we want to turn over to the other side
Again prosecutors role is not to incarcerate people
The prosecutors were all is to pursue justice
I think another practice that the speak for the United States the citizen out of bonds is
Excluding people from jury service because of their race and it's calling
That's Kentucky's case you can't do that but a tax and most of the cases
There's four left, you know just in terms of the changing demographics of the county and so forth
But as you found that one of your assistants was striking jurors is because of their race
Same answer that's an ethical violation. I believe it to be a legal violation and if
And if someone was consistently and intentionally doing that they need to be terminated at the very least if
You know, we saw it happen
One time and we and we decided that hey this petition used to be addressed
maybe these weren't the worst offenders, but that needs to be addressed and
again
The
Question of the clarification really hit that follows it was
about turning over evidence to the defense the
When I was first I lost a part on your federal court when the judge simply set of the prosecutor open your file
We're on TV motions. So the question is would you open the files about the defense?
Yes
Yes, I think transparency and
Justice system, which is sorely lacking
currently
It you know, it's not a panacea. It's not a cure it absolutely helps build confidence and
What?
Officers are doing rehab
Transparency
Distribute information
In order to achieve one of your primary goals was transparency in other words what the best ways to keep the public in before
You know, I think there's I think we have to I mean taking advantage of the technology
Posting this data on the website consistently making it available to
Anyone be it handouts and prosecutors offices
And again, I intend there's probably some people just won't help to serve on our advisory committee
And so there's some other ways that we can
that we can be creative to come up with to make sure that we're about being transparent making sure that
that information is available that people who may not be on the Internet and
Let's do it. I think that makes my childhood when people know what to expect. They know what the policy is
Can you explain why you work for the Municipal Court
prosecutor and judgment if you believe that the criminalization
That the criminalization of poverty is wrong. I
think that we know that these positions
exist and
I think it's important that we have people we're going to be fair in those positions
One thing another was there was the other prosecution side of the defense that we need their people first importance meeting good people
That's how the system works and one thing that I could say and I'm proud of this is after August 2014
I've been on the bench maybe a year
My court was the first court to
to write a Twitter
Issuing a universal warrant recall. We called every single war
Later on after I found out that I couldn't it would to be able to do some research
That's when we withdrew if we dismissed every case
Past 3 or 5 years old
because that was in the interest of justice, so I don't think it's
The jackhole is what you do with that job
Helping to bring about uniform
Fine of uniform fine structure across st. Louis town
Because many of us know that you go one on one Street in st. Louis County and you get a ticket. It's a hundred bucks
Go down two more blocks. And now that was same the same infraction is two hundred bucks
and so those are some of the things that needed to be addressed and what elephant in the room that the
Media mustn't open many of us don't is that the culture of the municipal courts?
Pre-2006 2015 we really started seeing these reforms implemented which I'm very proud in deities
We were we were in committee before it was a thing before August of 2014, but many of these reforms
To the circuit though because any Highway Patrol cases are handled in st
Louis County Courts and a lot of these reforms don't apply to st
Louis County and I think that if they are if they are the fair thing to do to be discipline courts
And it should be the same
in the circuit
This somewhat related what were you
Was arrested for speeding and one of those bells
Arrested yeah, I mean they gave me a ticket and they took away my driver's license and maybe
So here for the question
so what were your reactions those who participated you're relevant person in the Bible unrest in Ferguson and
Believed civil disobedience should be prosecuted or not. I mean, that's really I think a serious question
people demonstrating and
Some situations that may turn
so first and foremost, we have to distinguish between
protesters peaceful protesters and those who would keep in mind
a lot of people don't realize this is that when there were people that were trying to throw by us and our people
Protest I think that we levy on the stage today
Not criticize those who
Yes, you are
You know, they're not everywhere there's 68 places in the county where they're not necessarily you have can you
For the police, I do think that we have to start thinking regionally
Two or three
Because
That is
But
Your commitment to free
Diversion programs and the question is what's the County County back and said mr. Bello?
We don't have the money or enough money for this for the diversion courts, where we never
Did what are those fancy stuff that you want to do?
So first of all, I want to clarify the question
It's a promise to expand
These programs
and so if let's just say we're going to expand these programs and
Let's just say we do need more money because of the line that we're saving lives
Then it is
incumbent on me to
Use my platform to publicly go to the County Council to publicly go to Jefferson City to publicly and aggressively pursue
Federal grants to get the money and then when I probably do it everyone in this room
Has my back and they are a tech deviant though. It's County Council meeting say hey, these are things that we need to do because
They may cosplay and again, they'll save us money loves her
Made a strong move to restorative justice and failures and tracking success as to recidivism
Within some of those programs. So in terms of these programs that you put in place
How do you plan to evaluate them as you'll introduce them? And how do you communicate and redress those that aren't working?
Because I think that's part of what?
the
program a diversion program and
The practices that we implement day one in January of 2019 we're going to
We have to leave space for that so one I think it starts with the transparency piece
We have to publish that data
We have to analyze that data and we have programs of their work any in programs that don't work
Absolutely again, I support policy February those that don't details no question. And so we have to be open to that
Oh
conviction rates send people to jail
Stick out my chest and other skype messages higher rates higher data rates higher
sexual assault rates and when I talk about just about a few percentages
Since 2002 since 2000
2014 in 2017 our homicide rate in st. Louis County shadow over 90%
our sexual assault rate shadow over 200% and that's under the
antiquated notion of
Quote-unquote tough on crime so I'm gonna suggest that we be smart
So I'll skip my question about your clothes
Kind of all, we have four minutes left you can have two of them and we'll give the other to the audience so
First and foremost
School board member Jason Wilson claim the school board member has
graciously opened the coffee shop Northwest which is almost right next door if anybody wants to head over there and
Continue the conversation, please join us. We'll be there
and so
In this election, you have a clear you have a clear choice. You have a clear decision a clear option actually say
And we can do the same thing that we've been doing which across the board has networked
again, we see continued crime our
Literally is costing us this model of madness mass
this mass incarceration model has continued to
Take away generations of our citizens
This is drug. We were seeing thousands of drug tests. And so you keep doing the same thing we can
Try something different and try something that we know works
My office will not focus on
incarcerated nonviolent offenders
We're going to focus our efforts on a series of violent offenders that need to be held accountable
I mean
and I'll say this when you start arming people as
Much as I try to help you work with people you start harming people. You lose one seventy
But we know that people don't
Jump right into violent crime. There's a progression
when we give them
Give them the resources the trophy for mental health treatment that they need
We know that they are less likely to refill
They're less likely they're more likely to be productive citizens and instead of the window dressing that we're doing now
Which which I call the political fallacies where?
Politicians do just enough so that they could brag about what they did come election time
But we look at
Five or six thousand cases of our lash - and we know that 80 to 85 percent
individuals that are coming contact with justices aren't d of drug treatment and
That that's not good enough. We can't just be tactically with
Diversionary program to the trial treatment we have to excel at those programs
Because we all benefit and so August 7th
Asking for your support
We're taking on a 30-year incumbent who doesn't feel the attack speed
To address the public as a public servant
Because that because he's entrenched and so he doesn't feel that needs an answer answer it answer questions
well
One thing that I've learned as the Ferguson City Councilman is that you cannot get anywhere without community engagement
When I come up with the greatest plan in the world
and it fails
Everybody's pointing that meeting record, but when we come to choose to come up with solutions together
And they don't work will pass only problem those problems are a whole lot easier to fix. We're all invested when we're all
stakeholders and so we will as prosecute we will continue to have these kind of
I tend to be accountable I think as as a councilman, I think people know that if you have a question, you've no arresting
And and I will continue that as an as your town prosecutor if I get the agra of cervix
So with that saying our seventh is the election I am asked the figures support
I'm asking for your your legs to knock on doors. I'm asking for your voice to make phone calls
Indivisible st. Louis has endorsed us right 30,000 postcards
Come help us read postcards the Young Democrats have endorsed us there to help with their did not knock indoors. We appreciate that
We're receiving so much so many other endorsements as well to start if I start listening to I'm gonna start again. That's a good problem
So again I ask for your support ask for your help. We ask for your time
You know, this is a big election
And and this election matters, we're talking about the prosecutor and for far too long this office ran under the rig
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