We will not see justice in the law enforcement raid on the Marion County Record newspaper until officials take an entirely different approach.

Until now, the investigation into abuse of power by local officials has been overseen by Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey’s handpicked special prosecutors and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, with an assist from its Colorado compatriots. All have shown themselves unlikely or unwilling to serve justice. The prosecutors’ report offers a how-to manual for abusing journalists. The KBI, as shown by First Amendment attorney Max Kautsch’s columns last month, has long obfuscated the details of high-profile cases and covered for guilty cops.

We need to start over.

And that begins by having a truly independent counsel to review all of the investigative files related to the raid, collected by both the KBI and Colorado Bureau of Investigation in its follow-up work.

That independent counsel should be a retired judge or lawyer of unimpeachable credentials, someone respected by law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys and reporters alike. This person should have a clear record of leveling with the public and explaining why charges are or are not brought in cases.

After a careful review of all of the evidence, this independent counsel should then write their own report free of influence from Kansas law enforcement officials and share it with the public. If they believe further charges should be brought against one or more parties in the case, they should be empowered to do so.

I suggest this approach as a compromise.

In his columns, Kautsch called for the release of raw investigative files from the KBI and CBI. The more public information the better, but law enforcement officials have denied open-records requests from Kansas Reflector editor in chief Sherman Smith. On the other hand, special prosecutor Barry Wilkerson told Smith he doesn’t foresee any new charges in the case (beyond the token slap on the wrist administered to former police chief Gideon Cody).

The least Kansas officials could do is allow someone else to take a hard look at what happened in Marion and why.

Special prosecutors’ history

You may wonder why I’m so quickly discarding the work of Wilkerson and his fellow special prosecutor, Marc Bennett.

Unfortunately, both men are hardly objective referees. The circumstances surrounding their appointment and earlier public testimony about open records raise questions that, to my mind, invalidates their report. I don’t mean to cast aspersions on the two men personally, or their work in Riley and Sedgewick counties. In this specific situation, however, they were flawed picks.

As Smith reported last month, Bennett offered Ensey advice in the immediate aftermath of the raid (Wilkerson pitched in a couple of days later). Bennett told the county attorney that search warrants in the case “will not sustain appellate review” and “to return the material seized to the owners in an expedited manner.”

Ensey then selected Bennett and Wilkerson as the special prosecutors. Surely, in the entire state of Kansas, he could have found legal minds without prior involvement in the case.

But that’s just the beginning. Wilkerson happens to have made extensive public comment about the relationship between news reporters and law enforcement. A decade ago, he testified against a House bill improving law enforcement transparency and accountability. The Kansas Press Association explained more here.

In written testimony, Wilkerson offered his take as president of the Kansas County and District Attorneys Association. He didn’t just argue against the bill. He instead appeared to criticize the very concept of crime reporting.

“I have never met the victim of a violent crime who wanted to be on the front page, or the families of murder victims who want to be today’s top story,” he said. “They have been victimized already and they do not want their pain and agony paraded publicly and their dignity invaded while they read or hear from others who have read gruesome details of a murder or sexual assault. It is an unspeakable gut wrenching experience, not a headline.

“The Kansas Legislature is here to protect its citizens not to help sell sensationalized news accounts.”

I don’t know which is more disgraceful. That Wilkerson hid his obvious contempt for the free speech rights of the press behind a shield of crime victims or that he believes reporters relish the despair of others. For one thing, there is no shortage of such victims who want to tell their stories in a public forum, and as loudly as possible. For the other, I’ve watched reporters throughout my two-decade career  grapple with the toll of reporting on inhumanity.

Members of the news media understand the seriousness of the issues, which is why we cover them. We aren’t paid Wilkerson’s county attorney salary ($192,723 for 2023) to do so, either.

A version of the bill ultimately made it into law in 2014. In an interview with Smith, the attorney suggested that he was representing the group’s position, “but we ended up working out a compromise on all this … and we were able to get something done, the bill that was eventually passed.”

He added that he supported the current law.

I take Wilkerson at his word today, even though Katusch told me the proposal and compromise were “remarkably similar.” But I also take Wilkerson at his word in 2014. That testimony makes him wholly inappropriate to serve as a special prosecutor in a case concerning press freedom. Full stop.

For the record, Bennett also testified against the House bill, although in more technical terms. Wilkerson spoke with Smith late last month, but Bennett declined to do so.

Keeping up the pressure

In the month since Wilkerson and Bennett’s report dropped, Smith and I have spoken to and heard from Kansas lawyers and law enforcement. Some have made their disagreement with its conclusions public. Others have taken a quieter approach — for now.

What I can say is this: The report does not suffice. It falls short in only charging a single person for their conduct after the fact. It falls short for not making a more forceful case about freedom of the press and the importance of journalists being able to do their jobs unimpeded. Most critically, it falls short in calling precisely no one to account for conducting an illegal raid. At a certain point, it moves beyond excusing bad conduct to laying the groundwork for others to harass the press in the future.

Someone else must take the reins, and as soon as possible.

I don’t have a specific method in mind for selecting the independent counsel. In my conversations with Kautsch, it appears that the appointment could either come at the local level, from state law enforcement agencies, or even Gov. Laura Kelly. He will address possible mechanisms for such an appointment in an upcoming column.

The point is to get a well-respected person selected and starting work sooner rather than later.

The stench of law enforcement abuse in the Marion County Record case has not gone away. It will not go away. It will continue to waft throughout this state until someone in our government stands up and insists on accountability from those who would strip First Amendment rights from their fellow citizens. Record editor Eric Meyer saw support surge into his newsroom from across the nation in the raid’s aftermath. But that’s not enough, and it was never going to be enough. Outrage without consequence eventually evaporates.

As I wrote last year, within a week of the original raid, we need accountability.

At this point, an independent counsel is the only way to get there.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.

While Tulane football is solidifying an identity on offense under a new quarterback, they face a difficult test against Kansas State in pass coverage.

The team has momentum following their 52-0 season opener victory, and while the Big 12 is a markedly different opponent than the FCS, Tulane’s shown the ability to hang with the big dogs.

Their victory in Kansas State in 2022 was the single best-game display of tackling I’ve ever seen, with Tulane’s fourth down stops sealing the victory. The 17-10 final score exemplified the struggles both offenses faced on the day.

The Wildcats’ quarterback struggled as the Green Wave shut down his mobility and top back, Deuce Vaughn. This season, Avery Johnson is a more credible passer to face.

The real test for the team is how they fare against the Wildcats secondary and their unique employment of three-safety shells. Michael Pratt struggled to generate a passing game when he faced them, as evidenced by his 13 completions, one touchdown, and two interceptions.

Kansas State runs a 3-3-5 base defense, with eight players in coverage. That unit returns eight starters and five of their six leading tacklers. Joe Klanderman enters his fifth season as the team’s defensive coordinator and sixth-year coaching safeties—apt for his defensive strength.

Prior to the 2021 season, Klanderman overhauled their defense, going from a four-man front to the 3-3-5 structure for the first time in his career. That structure has three safeties: strong, free, and jack safety.

Two-year starter at the role Kobe Savage, now at Oregon, described the role on Kansas State’s website last season:

“A jack is like if a 4-2-5 defense had a middle linebacker, that’s what a 3-3-5 defense is for the jack,” Savage said. “It’s just an extra middle linebacker who can play anywhere from the boundary to the field, who can come down in the box, who can blitz, and who can play man defense. They call it a ‘jack’ because it’s a ‘jack of all trades.’ You can do whatever.”

A jack of all trades is otherwise known as a nightmare for opponents, especially this early in the season, with a new player in the role. Transfer Jordan Riley from Ball State is the one to watch next Saturday at Yulman Stadium.

Riley was a high school wrestler who switched from defensive tackle to defensive back, and it shows in his physicality and playmaking ability. In his last season at Ball State, he had 61 tackles, 3 TFL, eight pass deflections, and a fumble recovery.

Ultimately, he’s only going to be in his second start as a jack safety, something he’d never played anything close to in his career. That gives Tulane an opportunity to take advantage of some inexperience there—but shutting down that third jack safety will be key.

Tulane wants to establish their ground game, so they’ll need to keep Riley out of reach through downfield blocking. The offense wasn’t incredibly creative with their run plays in the season opener but will have to lean on their rush attack to beat the Wildcats. The passing game will need to be sharp, smart, and focused on protecting the football.

Reading Jordan Riley’s role in three-safety shell coverage will be key for Darian Mensah, but so will opportunities to tuck it and run like Pratt. It’s then up to the team, especially the wide receivers, to get out in front and shut Riley out. The Green Wave’s path to victory against Kansas State and their scheme rests on their ability to execute cleanly and defeat a unique position at jack safety.

A 34-year-old Kansas man died after crashing his car into a semitractor-trailer Sunday along Interstate 70 in northwest Kansas.

The man was identified as Fabian G. Hernandez Rios of Colby, Kansas Highway Patrol crash logs show.

The crash was reported at 11:37 a.m. along I-70 in Gove County. Rios was eastbound on I-70 in a 2005 Ford Focus, while a semi was heading west, according to the crash report.

For unknown reasons, Rios crossed the median and struck the large truck on its driver side. The Focus remained in the eastbound lane, while the semi came to a stop in the westbound shoulder.

Rios died at the scene of the crash. The 43-year-old driver of the truck from Houston was not injured in the incident.