For seven Kansas prison inmates like the Carr brothers, what happens at the Supreme Court could mean life or death. No one has been executed in Kansas since 1994.
It was almost one year ago that the state's death penalty law was ruled unconstitutional by the Kansas Supreme Court. On Wednesday, the highest court in the land will hear the case.
Kansas Attorney General Phil Kline believes the current law is fine and wants the Supreme Court to overrule the Kansas lower court. Lawrence Public Defender Rebecca Woodman, representing an inmate on death row, believes the current law is unconstitutional. At issue is how the current death penalty law is interpreted by juries.
In a 2001 case called 'State vs. Kleypas,' the Kansas Supreme Court found that the death penalty law was unfairly weighted toward death. On Wednesday in Washington at the Supreme Court, a case will be argued that will either overturn the Kansas Supreme Court decision on the state's death penalty or uphold it.
If the state is overruled, the seven inmates on death row could be executed. If it is upheld, it is possible the seven will never face execution. For both Kline and Woodman, it may be the case that can make or break a career. Neither one has ever argued before the high court so, the pressure on both is immense. It will be months before the Supreme Court announces its decision.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office says regardless of the outcome of the case, it is anticipated Kansas lawmakers will find a way to pass a constitutional death penalty law.