A one-thousand page rewrite of Missouri’s criminal laws has hit state senators’ desks. It’s unlikely to go very far this year. And that’s fine with the sponsor, who thinks of it as a multi-year project anyway…
This will be only the second complete overhaul of Missouri’s criminal laws in about 175 years and the first since the mid 19-70s when then state Senator Ike Skelton led the effort.
Kansas City Senator Jolie Justus is drawing on the efforts of a special working group of lawyers and legislators who have spent months on the project.
The proposal gets rid of a lot of outdated language. It also creates a new category of crimes–a class E felony, something between the worst misdemeanor and what is now the most minor felony charge.
She knows various special interests will be advocating in the months ahead their interests in what should and should not be crimes. Justus admits it might take a couple of years before the final overhaul is finished.
