# @thekansascitystar on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/Cjxr5AUNPS-
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/19115453-thekansascitystar-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/9e8edc9a3f.jpg
- **Posted:** 2022-10-16T13:30:34.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Kansas City Star (@thekansascitystar) — https://gondola.cc/thekansascitystar

## Caption

After 10-year-old Caleb Schwab was killed in August 2016 while riding the towering Verrückt slide at Schlitterbahn, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt launched an intense push to hold the water park, the slide’s designers and others criminally responsible.

The prosecutors spearheading the effort had a punchy nickname for their boss: “The General.”

But Schmidt did not lead them to victory.

Schmidt, now the Republican nominee for governor, attempted to prosecute seven individuals and businesses in connection with the death of Caleb, the son of Scott Schwab, who was a GOP state legislator at the time and is now the Kansas secretary of state.

The cases imploded in spectacular fashion. Unusual decisions, prosecutorial misconduct and basic mistakes compounded until the entire project ended in failure.

The Schlitterbahn debacle has not featured prominently in the race for governor between Schmidt and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly ahead of the Nov. 8 election. But as Schmidt campaigns in part by emphasizing crime and public safety, the episode stands out as the biggest prosecutorial failure of his 12 years as state attorney general.

Head to the link in our bio to read more. ✏️ Jonathan Shorman

#Kansas #Schlitterbahn #Election2022 #KSPolitics #LocalNews

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 869
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 25

## Tags

kspolitics, localnews, election2022, kansas, schlitterbahn

---
Copyright (c) Gondola