Outrage over the jail bond for a woman accused of later killing a Kansas City-area fighter may have been horribly misplaced, The Heartlander has learned.

The stabbing murder of Kansas City Fire Department paramedic Graham Hoffman by a woman he was caring for early Sunday sent shock waves across the nation, and produced aftershocks of fury that the woman, Shanetta Bossell, had been released from jail on bond just two days earlier for allegedly biting a police officer April 23.

Much of the anger has been directed at Clay County Judge Louis Angles, who had set a $10,000 bond for Bossell in the biting case. Online memes have featured his photo alongside the suspected killers, while The Heartlander has learned that the case has inspired death threats against the judge.

But criminal justice experts contacted by The Heartlander say the angst about the bond is misdirected and unfair.

“It really irks me,” says Clay County Sheriff Will Akin, a nearly 30-year veteran of military and law enforcement work.

Akin says the judge is the furthest thing from the liberal he’s been accused of being – and that he, in fact, has long been “a great partner to law enforcement.”

Moreover, a bail bondsman contacted by The Heartlander who asked to remain anonymous said the $10,000 bond wasn’t out of line at all with courthouse protocols.

The real problem, as noted by a KMBC-TV report, may be Missouri Supreme Court Rule 33.01, which says “the court shall set and impose the least restrictive condition or combination of conditions of release, and the court shall not set or impose any condition or combination of conditions of release greater than necessary to secure the appearance of the defendant at trial.”

“The Missouri Supreme Court writes rules when it comes to when a defendant is entitled to bond,” Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson told the station.

“The Missouri Constitution gives them the right to make those rules. And then prosecutors and judges are obligated to follow those rules.”

In short, look no further than the Missouri Supreme Court.

Recent state attorney general candidate Will Scharf, now a key White House attorney, told The Heartlander last year that the judge selection process covering much of the state, known as the Missouri Plan, leads to liberal judges: It allows the Missouri Bar Association to choose up to three nominees that the governor has no choice but to appoint from to fill a judgeship.

“We have three branches of government in this state,” Scharf told The Heartlander in an exclusive interview last year. “And with respect to one of them, with respect to the courts, we’ve said that for the most important judges we are going to turn over selection of those judges effectively to a cartel, to the Missouri Bar Association – we’re going to give a single profession a privileged position with respect to picking a third of our government.  

“I just don’t think that’s fair, and I think that’s anti-democratic. And I don’t think it makes sense. In practice, things have gone even further off the rails because those bar seats have been monopolized by the trial lawyers for a very long time now. It’s shifted our judiciary far to the left.”

In the case of Bossell – who, at the time was facing charges of biting an off-duty officer as a means of resisting arrest – “The judge simply followed rules set down by the courts,” Akin says.

“Someone has to explain this to the public.”

Akin and others have suggested lawmakers should greatly increase or deny bond altogether for those who assault law enforcement officers and first-responders.

Health-care providers and teachers should be added to that list, Akin argues.

Bossell’s bond is now $1.25 million. 

In any case, Missouri U.S. Sen. Eric Schmitt on Friday expressed outrage over the murder and announced he’s introducing legislation increasing the penalties for killing first-responders in the line of duty.

“A tragedy such as this must never be allowed to happen again in Missouri or across the nation,” Schmitt wrote in a press release

“That’s why I plan to introduce legislation to increase federal penalties for those who murder first responders in the line of duty. First responders put their lives on the line each and every day to keep our communities safe; it’s time we stand up to ensure they are protected from those who wish to do them harm.

“This legislation, in honor of Graham, will help ensure our nation does just that/”