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Kansas Supreme Court strikes down death penalty
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| Contributor | KanDem |
| Last Edited | KanDem Dec 17, 2004 03:00pm |
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| Category | News |
| News Date | Friday, December 17, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | TOPEKA — A divided Kansas Supreme Court struck down the state's death penalty.
Read the court ruling
Associated Press story
Past death penalty stories
Amnesty International guide to Kansas' death penalty
The 4-3 decision vacates all seven death penalty convictions in the Kansas judicial system.
Atty. Gen. Phill Kline criticized the ruling and said he would appeal it to the U.S. Supreme Court.
If the decision is allowed to stand it woud be "thwarting the administration of justice, setting aside legislative intent and wreaking emotional havoc on surviving family members," Kline said.
The court ruled unconstitutional the part of the death penalty that instructs a jury on weighing aggravating factors of the crime against the background of the defendant, which may have affected that person's judgment.
Essentially, the law says that if a jury decides the aggravating factors and mitigating factors are the same in weight, the defendant gets the death penalty. It's referred to as "a tie goes to the state."
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