Cape County prosecutor candidates differ on how to run office

The two candidates for Cape Girardeau County prosecuting attorney differ on how they would run the office while both stress they have the legal experience to do the job.

Lawyers Mark Welker of Cape Girardeau and William Bryant of Jackson will face off in the Aug. 7, Republican primary. The winner is assured of election as he will be unopposed in the November, general election for the job that pays nearly $138,000 a year.

Both candidates entered the race after prosecutor Chris Limbaugh resigned to take a position as general counsel to Gov. Mike Parson.

William Bryant

Bryant favors using a grand jury as a prosecution tool, which eliminates the need for a preliminary hearing in a criminal case.

Mark Welker

Welker said there are benefits to the grand jury system, but he said, if elected prosecutor, the majority of cases �would continue to be filed through the traditional system of holding preliminary hearings.�

In an email to the Southeast Missourian, Bryant said he believes �the grand jury system is superior because it is more efficient, it protects vulnerable victims by not forcing them to appear in court face-to-face with their perpetrator before trial, and it keeps our police officers on the streets to protect us and each other, instead of wasting time sitting in the courthouse waiting to learn if there will be a preliminary hearing or not.�

Welker said the grand jury system can be �an effective tool� in certain cases. �For crimes involving sexual abuse of a child, the grand jury process would protect the victim from having to testify multiple times,� he said.

�A major investigative advantage of the grand jury is its use of a court order directing a person to appear and testify in cases involving the major case squad,� Welker said in an email. Grand juries also allow cases to move through the judicial process quicker, he said.

Bryant said, if elected, he wants to change the philosophy of the prosecutor�s office.

�The focus will be turned more to protecting victims and supporting law enforcement versus concerns about a won-loss record,� he said.

Bryant said he wants to �jury try more violent felons, instead of pleading them to a lesser sentence.� He added he wants to �punish gun criminals� in an effort to reduce violent crimes.

Bryant said he would better inform the public about cases being prosecuted. In addition, he said, �myself or another experienced prosecutor will be available at the scene of all major criminal investigations.�

The Jackson lawyer said he would take �a more active role� in handling rape cases.

Welker said the prosecutor�s office has �a great and storied history.� He added, �Having the current assistant prosecutors with over 50 years of experience is a huge asset to our community.�

If elected, he said he would look to strengthen the domestic violence diversion program, which �would empower battered spouses in the fight against domestic violence.�

Welker said he also favors having a regularly scheduled �ride-along program with law enforcement and the prosecutor�s office.�

The Cape Girardeau lawyer vowed to have �a more proactive approach to fighting crime by working with community leaders and officials.�

Welker said he wants to continue the current practice of prosecuting some cases in federal court. The prosecutor�s office has two assistant prosecutors who also are special assistant U.S. attorneys.

�This has been a tremendous asset for the office and our community because it allows violent offenders such as (those with) gun-related and drug distribution offenses to be subject to harsher penalties in federal court,� he said.

Bryant disagrees. �We should be prosecuting criminals who break the law in our community in our courts,� he said. Federal sentencing guidelines �are designed to make sure criminals in our community are treated the same as those in Hollywood, California. But our values aren�t the same as those in California,� Bryant said.

�I would end this practice immediately and return to punishing our criminals in Cape Girardeau County courtrooms where our values are heard at sentencing,� he said.

Both men stressed their legal experience.

Bryant practiced law in Missouri, Texas and Illinois. He currently works as a prosecutor for the Illinois Attorney General�s Office in Carbondale, Illinois.

He said he has practiced solely in the area of criminal law for 18 years, mostly as a prosecutor.

Bryant said he has the experience to be the prosecuting attorney.

�Being the chief prosecutor in a first-class county like Cape Girardeau is not an entry level position,� he said.

Voters, he said, should choose him because he is an experienced prosecutor. Referring to his opponent, Bryant said voters should not decide the race upon �who spent the most money on signs or who prints a long list of endorsements.�

Welker, who works for The Limbaugh Firm, has been involved in criminal law for five years. He said he has a broad legal background, having handled more than 100 trials and hearings in civil and criminal litigation.

�This experience gives me the ability to see cases from both a prosecution and a defense point of view, which will make me stronger and better able to address and prosecute a case,� he said.

But Welker said there is more to the job of prosecuting attorney than being a trial attorney. He also must administer the office.

�Judgment and leadership are also required when allocating prosecutorial resources while administering an office comprised of seven assistant prosecutors and a $1.4 million budget,� Welker said.

�People in the community need to know they have strong leaders with good judgment, and I have learned those traits from living and working in this community my entire life,� he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3641