Skip to content
26°
Wichita, KS
Election Results
Sports
Weather
Catch It Kansas
Advertise With Us
Livestream
Campaign 2022
Fentanyl Crisis
ACLU death penalty challenge to go before Sedgwick County judge
Default Mono Sans Mono Serif Sans Serif Comic Fancy Small Caps
Default X-Small Small Medium Large X-Large XX-Large
Default Outline Dark Outline Light Outline Dark Bold Outline Light Bold Shadow Dark Shadow Light Shadow Dark Bold Shadow Light Bold
Default Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%
Default Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%
That challenge questions if the death penalty is even constitutional.
By Shawn Loging and KWCH Staff
Published: Jan. 27, 2023 at 5:47 PM CST
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - In a little more than a week, a challenge from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to the death penalty in Kansas will go before a Sedgwick County judge. That challenge questions if the death penalty is even constitutional. Attorneys for the ACLU are making the case that the use of the death penalty is discriminatory and doesn’t serve its punitive purpose.
The State of Kansas hasn’t executed anyone on death row in more than 60 years, but capital punishment is used in charging and sentencing some cases. That includes the case involving Kyle Young, charged with capital murder in Sedgwick County. It’s in that case the ACLU is challenging the state’s death penalty statute. That hearing starts a week from Monday, on Feb. 6.
Young is charged with capital murder in the January 2020 shooting deaths of George Kirksey and Alicia Roman. While the ACLU is challenging the use of the state’s death penalty statute in this case, the organization’s capital punishment project said if the ruling is in their favor, it could have broader impacts.
“That ruling, we would hope then, would be applied to other cases,” said the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project Director, Cassandra Stubbs. “The other thing we’re asking the court to do is rule that the death penalty statute overall is unconstitutional.”
The ACLU said it’s spent more than two years working with experts to research and gather evidence about the Kansas death penalty statue and its use in Sedgwick County.
“The scope of the hearing is unprecedented, no court has looked at this record of evidence in Kansas, and then also the level of new evidence that we have,” Stubbs said.
Stubbs said part of the challenge the ACLU is presenting is to what’s called “the death qualification” where potential jurors opposed to the death penalty are excluded from the jury pool.
“Every study that’s ever looked at (the death qualification) finds that it changes who would be able to serve on a death penalty case. It removes people who are more likely to ask serious questions about the prosecutor’s evidence. They’re more likely to lead to wrongful convictions,” Stubbs said.
She also said the ACLU’s research shows this changes the demographics of the jury with Black jurors and women jurors more likely to be excluded. The ACLU also points to its research to argue the death penalty is unfairly applied and less likely to be used when the victim is a person of color.
Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett responded to the ACLU’s death penalty challenge in a more-than-60-page filing. The response points out a trail hasn’t happened yet and says it’s too early to make a decision about this.
“In the event Defendant is convicted of capital murder and is subsequently sentenced to death, then the Court would be in a position to determine whether the institutional failures described by Defendant were in fact, impervious to steps taken by the court,” Bennett wrote.
He added that the issues raised have already been litigated and resolved by other Kansas cases.
Young’s case is scheduled for a jury trial in October.
Copyright 2023 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email [email protected]
Most Read
Teen critically injured in crash near Garden Plain
Derby police cracking down on Delta 8, but is it legal?
2 critically injured in crash on K-96
‘White castle’ building could be all yours for free - but there’s a catch
Fan creates petition for Kelce brothers’ mom to lead Super Bowl coin toss
Latest News
‘Serious threat’ leads to lockdown at Haysville West Middle School
‘White castle’ building could be all yours for free - but there’s a catch
Kansas 'castle' up for grabs
Sportsbook at Kansas Star Casino heating up ahead of Super Bowl Sunday
Wichita State falls to Houston at Koch Arena
News
Aviation
Sports
Weather
FactFinder12
Extra
Contact Us
KWCH
2815 E. 37th Street North
Wichita, KS 67219
(316) 838-1212
KWCH Public Inspection File
KSCW Public Inspection File
[email protected] - (316) 831-6056
FCC Applications
Terms of Service
Privacy Policy
EEO Statement
Advertising
Closed Captioning/Audio Description
A Gray Media Group, Inc. Station - © 2002-2023 Gray Television, Inc.
