Teresa Hensley, a Democrat from Raymore (in the Kansas City metropolitan area), faces Republican Josh Hawley (who graduated from high school in Kansas City) on the November 8 ballot. Hensley spoke to The American about their comparative experience and qualifications for the position and her belief that alternate courts can be used statewide to keep more non-violent offenders out of Missouri’s overcrowded prisons. She also called attention to her opponent’s brash statements that he would use the office to further his personal political ideology, which include opposition to abortion, STEM cell research and same-sex marriages.
The St. Louis American: What are the essential functions of the office of Missouri attorney general?
Teresa Hensley: The attorney general is the top law enforcement official in the state. The office has over 180 attorneys, with five offices around the state. Those attorneys go into court daily around the state. For instance, in the last 60 days the attorney general’s office has done murder cases, child sex abuse cases, child endangerment cases, along with tax fraud and consumer fraud.
The office also assists the 115 elected prosecutors in the state when they request assistance. Some outer, rural counties may not have the resources to prosecute murder or child sex cases, or the local prosecutor may have a legal conflict of interest and ask the attorney general to step in.
The office is also responsible for fighting to uphold every felony conviction that all of these prosecutors have gained. It’s important to understand that for all murder or child sex cases where there are convictions, the attorney general’s office handles those cases in appeals. So if you’re going to be attorney general, you need to be able to handle those cases and you ought to have been in Missouri courts handling Missouri criminal cases.
My opponent has never represented a single client or victim in a Missouri court. I’ve been an attorney practicing in Missouri for almost 25 years now, with 14 years in private practice representing real people in real courts, and as elected prosecutor in Cass County for 10 years. As prosecutor for 10 years, I won 21 murder convictions out of 21 cases, I prosecuted hundreds of violent crimes, and I won over 500 convictions for sexual assault, domestic violence or child sex abuse – and these are “he said, she said” cases where there is little evidence to corroborate what victims say. I made a priority of victim advocacy.
While I had a lot of felony convictions and sent a lot of people to prison for committing heinous crimes, I also believe in alternate treatment programs – DWI courts, drug courts, mental health courts, and veterans courts. We send way too many people to prison for drug abuse and mental health issues. We know that treatment courts work in counties that have them. As attorney general, I would try to make them available throughout the state so we are not filling our prisons with mental health or drug cases.
The American: Your opponent, Josh Hawley, has really never worked one case in a Missouri court?
Teresa Hensley: Let’s talk about his resume. He’s had a bar license for 10 years. Out of law school, he went to work for two federal judges. Then he worked at a large firm in D.C. and was there less than three years. To be in a law office for just over two years, I doubt, at a big firm like that, they gave him much responsibility. Then he’s been a law professor. That’s what he’s done. That’s it. He’s never represented a client or sat with a victim.
To run an office with over 180 attorneys, you ought to have experience hiring, training and supervising attorneys. As Cass County prosecutor, I trained more than 20 attorneys. On the November 8 ballot, folks are looking at Republican nominees for both governor and attorney general who have never held public office – not as an alderman or committeeman or anything. They have no experience handling government or a budget. When I was a prosecutor, I started in 2005 with a $1.3 million budget and ended in 2014 with a $1.3 million budget. So I started and ended with the same budget and the same number of employees and attorneys, yet we went from filing 3,000 cases a year to filing 8,000 cases a year. So I know how handle a budget and a government office. This office has over 400 employees, and my opponent has no experience in practicing law in Missouri or administering an office this size.
The American: Why does he want to be attorney general?
Teresa Hensley: He has made it clear that sees the office as a place to promote his personal agenda. For instance, he has said twice publicly that if he were attorney general he would not enforce the law. As attorney general, your job is to enforce the law. That’s what an attorney general does for citizens. In fact, you’re responsible for removing elected officials who don’t obey the law. My opponent sent a press release stating his support for Kim Davis in Kentucky, who was put in jail for not issuing marriage licenses for same-sex couples – for not obeying the law. Recently Trinity Lutheran sued because it filed for a grant from Missouri for playground materials and was denied the grant. They sued because Missouri has a constitutional provision that says no public funds may be used for religious schools. Hawley said he would not enforce that law. As a prosecutor and attorney general, your job is to enforce the law over your personal beliefs and to seek justice fairly and equally. It’s dangerous for someone to want to be attorney general to use the office to push his personal views.
The American: Who else wants him to be attorney general?
Teresa Hensley: He has received over 3.5 million from David Humphries, owner of TAMKO Building Products in Joplin, who has a class action suit against him – a case that could go before the attorney general. He’s gotten $3 million from the Republican Attorneys General Association. The difference is I got $1 million from The Democratic Attorneys General Association, and we showed where every dollar came from, whereas the Republicans dropped $3 million in his account without our knowing where it came from. He has received over $4 million from two sources, but I raised $2.5 million from over 2,000 donations.
The American: What does the Republican Party expect from Hawley?
Teresa Hensley: He is against STEM cell research. He would defund Planned Parenthood, which delivers health care for women. He would seek to overturn Roe v Wade (which legalized abortion). He would pick and choose from his own personal beliefs what to pursue.
The American: What changes would you seek in the office if elected?
Teresa Hensley: My priorities would be to seek best practices in prosecution and law enforcement. I was named chair of the best practices committee for DWI and traffic safety for the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, which goes along with seeking best practices for child sex abuse and sexual assault cases and seeking alternate treatment courts. I would bring everyone to the table – and that includes law enforcement officials, Black Lives Matter activists, clergy, elected officials, civic leaders – to talk about the tensions that exist in our state. And the first file that I would ask to have brought to me is the Bridgeton Landfill case.
The American: What’s your best shot to convince someone to vote against Donald Trump and for Hillary Clinton?
Teresa Hensley: It’s hard for me to imagine why any woman would vote for Trump and not Hillary. Whether you’re voting for president or governor or attorney general, experience should matter to folks. We have a ticket of really good, experienced public servants who have dedicated their careers to making folks’ lives better and safer. I hope voters pay attention and respect to experience and qualifications.
Missouri Democrats have three women candidates on the ballot, besides Hillary. As a woman candidate, if I had as little experience practicing law in Missouri as my opponent has, I wouldn’t even be considered. I have 24 years of experience practicing law in this state. I’ll be ready to work my first day. When I was elected Cass County prosecutor, on my first day a detective called. Nobody else was in, so I took the call. He said he wasn’t expecting to get the new person or for me to be able to answer his question. Of course, I had done criminal defense for 14 years, so that gave me good experience. I was ready to be prosecutor on the first day and will be well- suited to be attorney general on day one.
