Scott County prosecutor, challenger call for criminal-justice changes

Both Scott County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Boyd and Republican challenger Amanda Oesch have proposed changes to the county�s criminal-justice system.

Oesch said she wants to provide �more effective and efficient prosecution.�

Amanda Oesch

Boyd wants the county to implement a �pre-trial diversion� program that would allow minor and non-violent offenders to remain at home under an ankle-monitoring system.

The two candidates differ over how to handle the Mischelle Lawless murder case. The murder occurred nearly 26 years ago and resulted in a wrongful conviction, which was later overturned.

The job of prosecutor carries an annual salary of $137,745.

Both candidates outlined their views in emailed responses to a candidates� questionnaire from the Southeast Missourian.

Boyd, who was first elected prosecutor in 2002, is seeking re-election in November to a fifth, four-year term.

The Democrat from Scott City said voters should re-elect him because he is �a seasoned prosecutor.�

He said he has tried more than 85 felony cases, including 14 murder cases, resulting in guilty verdicts in over 85 percent of the cases.

�I have argued criminal cases with 100 percent success before all three districts of Missouri�s appellate courts,� Boyd said.

He added he has provided �a firm but fair approach� to criminal justice.

But Oesch, a Benton, Missouri, lawyer, wants to change operations in the Scott County prosecutor�s office.

�I will more thoroughly review cases prior to filing charges,� she said. �I will work with training officers to work a more-thorough case and provide better services to victims,� she said.

�Cases should not sit for multiple years prior to being disposed,� said Oesch, whose tenure as an appointed prosecutor in Carter County ends Dec. 31.

�This costs taxpayers countless dollars, and it is not good for victims of crimes. The longer a case is prolonged, the likelihood of conviction decreases,� she said.

Boyd said the 33rd judicial circuit of Scott and Mississippi counties was recognized by the Missouri Supreme Court in 2017 and 2018 for �excellence in service and timely justice.�

The veteran prosecutor said officials are working to set up a pre-trial diversion program, which would save the county money by not having to house minor and non-violent offenders in jail.

The State of Missouri has set aside funding to reimburse the county for the cost of such a program next year, Boyd said.

�With the funding from the state, the county will see savings and the families of those defendants may still have some help at home, and some inmates may be approved for work-release pending the disposition of their cases,� he said.

Circuit court officials also plan to require defendants to sign up for �track this case� electronic notification through the Missouri court system, Boyd said.

The move is designed to help keep defendants from missing their court dates, he said.

Both candidates said they see a benefit to using grand juries at times rather than the preliminary hearing process.

But Oesch said grand juries should not be used year round or for a large number of cases �simply to elude the preliminary hearing� and the defendant�s right to confront witnesses.

Boyd said grand juries increase efficiency, allowing numerous cases to be processed in three or four hours.

They also are more convenient for victims and witnesses and allow officers to testify about multiple cases at a single session, he said.

As for the Lawless murder case, Oesch said, if elected, she would extensively review the case.

She said she would request the appointment of a special prosecutor to take charge of the case if it appears there would be a conflict of interest for the county prosecutor�s office to handle it.

Boyd said he would not request an outside prosecutor because �I have no conflict in this case.�

A Southeast Missourian investigation earlier this year found at least three key witnesses, and likely a fourth, were not called by the prosecutor to testify before a grand jury looking into the case in 2017. No indictments were handed down by the grand jury despite probable-cause affidavits filed by former Sheriff Rick Walter against two suspects before he left office.

Walter�s investigation uncovered problems with an earlier investigation by then Sheriff Bill Ferrell and helped determine Josh Kezer was wrongly convicted for the crime.

Boyd said he was not involved in the investigation by law enforcement officers of the 1992 murder.

�Any �mistakes� made in the investigation were inherited by my office. I was not part of the Scott County criminal justice system in the early �90s,� he said.

Boyd worked closely with Wes Drury, who worked for many years as the prosecutor�s investigator. Drury, when jailer at the time of the Lawless murder, allowed a witness to leave the officers� custody twice without questioning � once when the witness reported the crime at the jail and a second time when the witness arrived back at the crime scene when another officer called Drury. That witness is one of the men now considered a suspect in the murder. Drury is now the sheriff of Scott County and is in charge of the investigation.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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