The founding attorney of the McConnell Law Firm, Jonathan W. McConnell, is a leading criminal defense attorney in Wichita, Kansas. Known for an aggressive, “outside the box” approach to defending his clients, McConnell is often asked why he chose to be a criminal defense attorney. We invite you to read his reasons.
Defending Innocence
“Sometimes, a defendant is totally innocent of the crime they are being charged with. Maybe they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately, eyewitness testimony and memories are inherently unreliable, and people lie for any number of reasons. There are also many examples of people being charged for political reasons, as a way for a district attorney to show that they are tough on crime.”
Representing the Vulnerable
“When a crime occurs, people want to figure out who did it and make sure the person is punished immediately. Society used to nail people to the cross, burn people on the stake and hang people in front of a courthouse or from a tree. We like to think we live in a much more enlightened society, but the reality is that we do not.
“We still label people with scarlet letters, whether it is fair or not. I used to be a prosecutor and served as an assistant district attorney. I did not like that role because I felt in many ways that prosecutors are picking on the vulnerable parts of society.”
Providing Due Process
“Every person charged with a crime is entitled to due process of law, which includes having someone zealously advocate for them in court— someone to remind society that there are two sides to the story. That is why I chose to be a criminal defense attorney in Wichita, Kansas— to make sure the system is balanced and to be in the corner of a person who might not have anyone else.
“As the old saying goes: ‘It is better for 99 guilty people to walk free than for one innocent person to be executed.’”
