As Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline prepares to defend our state’s death penalty before the U.S. Supreme Court next month, an ongoing prosecution by his re-election opponent illustrates another of the law’s flaws: its seemingly uneven application. Although the 2002 murder of 19-year-old Ali Kemp at a Leawood swimming pool was “incredibly heinous,” Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison said this week, it doesn’t meet the “aggravating factors” criteria for the death penalty in Kansas. So if Benjamin Appleby is convicted, his maximum sentence would be life. When the death penalty is and isn’t applied may make sense in a court of law, but it clearly doesn’t pass the commonsense test among Kansans or victims’ survivors. Roger Kemp, the victim’s father, said: “If the Kansas laws don’t protect their innocent women and children, what good are they?”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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23 Comments
One thing to be said for the death penalty. The folks that “pass” thru death row will never again be released to commit their crimes again. It used to be called justice.
I won’t know what to think about this until I hear from the superior Galahad.
Well, now that we’ve heard from the “pro-lifers’….
Gotta agree with RhondaThe Special Circumstances currently required by Kansas law should be changed to “If it is Murder 1 you are eligible to die”. Mandatory. Jury can always go to Murder 2 if justifiable Circumstances exist.
DCBut it still wouldn’t apply to old cases like BTK.Can we make it retoractive?
I have been told that the state has no intention of putting anyone to death. In fact the “Death room” is used for storage at El Dorado.
The fixtures for lethal injection has never been put in.
The damn lawyers make it too expensive.
R.D.
There is no “death room” in El Dorado. Per statute, death row inmates are held in El Dorado until shortly before they are scheduled for execution. They will then be transferred to Lansing for the actual execution. The “death room” has not been set up in Lansing yet (granted) as nobody has been given an execution date.
The reason Kansas set the system up this way was to make it easier on the guards who would work with death row inmates on a daily basis. The fear was (based on information obtained from other death penalty states) that it would be hard on the guards to have to execute someone they have come to know at any level. This way, the people doing the executions will only have a had a few very structured days with the inmate before he or she is murdered by the state.
121 innocent people have been released from death row so far. Missouri is now looking into a case where they think they executed an innocent man. Louisiana was considering reopening two cases before Katrina where it is possible innocent men were executed. There is a reason it takes a long time to execute a person.
Joe C.
The ex post facto clause of the U.S. Constitution prohibits retroactive application of the death penalty (or any other punishment for that matter).
I am amazed at how many rabid pro live anti abortion activists are pro death penalty. The irony is delicious.
Now watch all of the right wing nut jobs jump in to justify this contradiction.
Another reason to be wary of death sentences in Kansas: did the prosecutors follow the rules at trial? For some reason, Steve Mazwell at the Attorney General’s office refuses to follow the legal and ethical rules at trials and is often reversed for prosecutorial misconduct. Even when csaes he tries are not reversed misconduct has been found. So much for a fair system of justice when a state attorney repeatedly refuses to follow the rules.
Aron I go by what I was told by someone that works at El Dorado. That there is a “Death room” having been build there. And the reports of the media.
I believe Kansas would follow in that an executioner would be a seperate employee. Not one of the guards as in “The green mile”, the practice was stopped in other state decades ago.
But there is the real problem of an innocent person being executed.The system is not perfect, I know of one case where if the D.P. had been in effect at the time. The wrong man would have been killed by the state. As it is he died in prison anyway.
RD – Whoever works at Eldorado that told you there is a death room is wrong. There are a few people responding to this blog that are up close and personal with the DP. If you’re interested in knowing a few more facts about the problems with the DP, Bill Kurtis, from A&E, is going to be speaking at Washburn this Friday evening.
CuriousAnd I’m amazed at how many rabid pro choice nut jobs are against war and hunting for any reason. I guess the irony runs deep on both sides.
Damoon,In case you’re curious, provided these 3 conditions are met, I’m not opposed to the death penalty:1. Cases are not closed upon execution, and new evidence may be brought and considered at any time.2. Any prosecutor convicted of misconduct or concealing evidence must also serve the same sentence imposed on the person convicted, including execution.3. When the inevitable mistakes occur, the prosecutor and governor must go (alone and unarmed) to the families of those wrongly executed to explain why it happened and what they will do to make amends.OK?
A few sites to take a look at if you’d like more information.
http://www.1000executions.org
http://www.kscadp.org
http://www.ncadp.org
Jed, at least you’re not a hypocrite. You think it’s Ok to kill people born or unborn. I guess my post wasn’t mean’t for you.I’m just thinking about those that oppose the death penalty for fear an innocent person might lose their life, but then think it’s ok to kill an unborn child for any reason.Just like the prolife advocates who oppose abortion because they “value life”, but then embrace the death penalty. The hypocrisy is evident on both sides.
Just remember, only the poor die at state expense.
What, the rich ones have to pay for their own executions? Lol!
It’s always struck me as a bit funny that we outlaw suicide or assisted suicide, but allow wars and executions. Seems to me the only person you have an absolute right to kill is yourself. All other situations should be treated with the same aversion with which we now treat suicide.
Might as well face it, when it comes to politics, religion, ethics, and the general human condition, the world is full of hyprocrisy. No one ever guaranteed that life would be fair, in fact, most of the time it’s not. The only thing we can do in our meaningless brief exsistance is attempt to make life more bearable for ourselves and others.Like Mother Theresa said, “We cannot do great things, only small things with great love”. The rest is just learning to accept the world as it is.
What does he mean the Kansas law sshould protect its “innocent women and children?” Personally, I think the laws should protect men as well. :-)