JEFFERSON CITY — A Missouri Senate committee on Monday dug into a plan to install a special prosecutor in St. Louis — an idea that has gained momentum since controversy ignited over a downtown car accident that critically injured a visiting teenage athlete, costing her both legs.
Proponents of the legislation say the case underscores why St. Louis needs a special prosecutor: Daniel Riley, the man accused of causing Janae Edmondson’s injuries, faces a robbery charge and was out on bond despite having violated it more than 50 times.
But an aide to Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner on Monday defended the circuit attorney’s office, saying Judge Bryan L. Hettenbach refused to revoke bond.
“The issue was framed erroneously as her (Gardner) having allowed Daniel Riley to remain out on bond,” Redditt Hudson, diversion specialist for Gardner, told the Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Monday.
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The legislation in question would allow Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, to appoint a special prosecutor for certain types of violent crimes in St. Louis and other high-crime jurisdictions in the state.
Opponents have described the legislation as a racially motivated attack on the city’s first Black elected prosecutor and argue the state’s relaxed gun laws have fueled high crime.
The hearing ended as opponents accused Republicans of racism as the majority party voted to end the hearing ahead of the Senate’s scheduled 4 p.m. start as others hoped to testify.
The special prosecutor legislation sailed out of the House on Feb. 9 and could see fast action in the Senate.
It remained to be seen whether a new factor would cause lawmakers to lose enthusiasm for the special prosecutor plan: Gardner, a Democrat, faces a legal proceeding launched by Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey to remove her from office.
Speaking against the bill for the county prosecutors association, Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd, a Republican, said the proceeding showed state law already contained a mechanism to hold prosecutors accountable, making the change allowing for a special prosecutor unnecessary.
Gardner did not appear at the committee hearing.
But in an interview Sunday with journalist Roland Martin available on YouTube, Gardner made clear she opposes the legislation, calling it an attempt at “voter suppression” by Republicans who currently control state government. She also blamed the St. Louis Police Officers Association and the Ethical Society of Police, whose leadership has been sharply critical of her performance in office.
“There (are) many individuals who are championing this because, of course, we want to blame the violent crime of the city of St. Louis on the first African American elected prosecutor, which is, as we know, a problem,” Gardner said.
She went on to note that the special prosecutor would be put in charge of shootings involving city police officers.
“Those cases are also murders. So that’s what this is really about,” Gardner said. “This is about a individual getting into this office, who is controlled by the governor, that will rubber stamp these investigations and justify most of the officer-involved shooting cases,” which she said her office needed to review.
“This is an attempt for the police union and others who want to continue the status quo to usurp the peoples’ voice,” she said.
The wide-ranging crime bill contains other provisions that have garnered less attention.
Sen. Steven Roberts, D-St. Louis, said the House legislation would allow felons to possess firearms if their crime isn’t considered a “dangerous” felony.
He said second-degree assault, first-degree stalking, first-degree statutory rape if the victim is 12 or older, and voluntary manslaughter aren’t considered .
“I think that this is a little overbroad,” Roberts said.
The House stripped a plan designed to prevent unsupervised juveniles from possessing firearms in public.
Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, said he might support a change in the Senate addressing unsupervised juveniles with guns.
Schroer said he and colleagues are “hoping to thread that needle and fix that issue to give law enforcement the tools to ensure that minors are not walking around with stolen guns that will later be used in crimes.”
The legislation is .
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