KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In her first interview as Jackson County Prosecutor-elect, Melesa Johnson sat down with KSHB 41 Anchor Kevin Holmes to discuss her vision and priorities while in office.
The Kansas City-born and raised attorney calls herself a lawyer by trade, but a servant by passion.
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KH: “What’s going to make you different than those who’ve occupied this seat before you?”
MJ: “My perspective. I am not only the first African American to hold this office. I’m the youngest. And when you look at the primary demographic of individuals embroiled in lives of crime; they are usually between the ages of 16 and 25. I’m ready to modernize our approach. I grew up in the age of social media. I know how much of a valuable tool those modern approaches can be to us fortifying our cases and getting more of those across the finish line.”
Johnson Considers herself a political outsider. No big political last name. She didn’t come up the ranks of working in the prosecutor’s office. And she says there’s value in that fresh, renewed perspective.
MJ: “We were the first county in the country to start a drug court… These innovative things have already been happening, but I think with my fresh and renewed perspective we’ll be able to take it to the next level.”
KH: “What do you say to those who say the prosecutor’s office has been too soft on crime?”
MJ: “I think that’s unfair because we need to look at the data.”
Johnson says her office will not be soft on crime, but smart on crime. She says they plan to handle cases in the courts by prosecuting, connecting with victims, and making sure cases are going to trial, instead of pleading them out for pennies on the dollar.
MJ: “But we have a lot of work to do outside of the courtroom as well, and combat is how we’re going to combat ongoing crime. The Community Backed Anti-Crime Tax, which is a 4 cents sales tax in polls all over Jackson County to be invested into violence prevention and intervention initiatives. People are looking for more proactivity. I meet with a lot of mothers of murder victims, and I meet a lot of non-fatal shooting victims; both organically and intentionally on the campaign trail. People want to feel like the prosecutor’s office is handling those cases as if those are our children.”
Johnson says while she looks to move the office into the future, the history of this moment hasn’t been lost on her.
KH: “How do you hold this title, knowing others will be looking up to you?”
MJ: “I’m still getting used to it if I’m being honest. My little sister actually framed it perfectly. And that’s when I understood the weight of this accomplishment. I have two nephews. One will be 5 this month. The other will be 3 next month. And my sister mentioned you’re going to be their first Black history project. That touched me in ways that are difficult to put into words.”
VOICE FOR EVERYONE | Share your voice with KSHB 41’s Kevin Holmes
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