Death Penalty Laws in Kansas

The Kansas Legislature is currently debating Senate Bill 208 which would change capital punishment laws in our state.

The resources below, primarily from government websites, provide information on capital punishment in Kansas.

Don't forget that you can track the status of Senate Bill 208 or any other proposed legislation by contacting staff at the State Library of Kansas: http://www.kslib.info/ask.html

KANSAS CAPITAL PUNISHMENT INFORMATION

The text of Kansas Senate Bill 208 (2009 Session)
http://www.kslegislature.org/bills/2010/208.pdf
(It is always wise to check with resources such as the Kansas Legislative Hotline on possible status and text changes in the legislative process. Call the Hotline at: 1-800-432-3924 or contact State Library staff via the Ask A Librarian web page:
http://www.kslib.info/ask.html )

Death Penalty in Kansas
http://skyways.lib.ks.us/ksleg/KLRD/Publications/2009Briefs/n-n-2-death-penalty.pdf
(From: 2009 Kansas Legislator Briefing Book)

“Kansas v. Marsh” (U.S. Supreme Court, 2006)
http://www.glin.gov/view.action?glinID=182887
Summary and full text of a Supreme Court Ruling in “Kansas v. Marsh” in which the Supreme Court upheld as constitutional a state death penalty statute that requires capital punishment to be imposed if a jury finds that aggravating circumstances are not outweighed by mitigating circumstances.
(Global Information Network)

Report of the Kansas Judicial Council Death Penalty Advisory Committee on Certain Issues Related to the Death Penalty, November 12, 2004
http://www.kscourts.org/pdf/studies/death_penalty_rpt11-12-04.pdf

Kansas Sentencing Commission
http://www.accesskansas.org/ksc/
(Senate Bill 50, which became law in 1989, established the Kansas Sentencing Commission, and directed the Commission to: "Develop a sentencing guidelines model or grid based on fairness and equity and...provide a mechanism for linking justice and corrections policies.)

Costs Incurred for Death Penalty Cases
http://www.kslegislature.org/postaudit/audits_perform/04pa03a.pdf
(Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit, 2003)

HISTORIC INFORMATION ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

A Kansas Memory Podcast: Capital Punishment in Kansas
http://www.kshs.org/audiotours/kansasmemory/041_capital_punishment.htm
(Kansas State Historical Society)

Kansas Memory
Government and Politics - Crime and Punishment - Crimes - Murders
http://www.kansasmemory.org/category/859
(Kansas State Historical Society)

Kansas Memory
Government and Politics - Crime and Punishment - Punishment - Death penalty
http://www.kansasmemory.org/category/865
(Kansas State Historical Society)

"Capital Punishment in Kansas: Nuts & Bolts and More"
http://www.kscourts.org/lawwise/febwise.htm#capital
(From: "Law Wise", Kansas Bar Foundation, Feb. 2000)

LIBRARY RESOURCES

Resources on Capital Punishment in Kansas in the ATLAS Catalog
http://lib.wuacc.edu/search~S8/dcapital+punishment+kansas
(The State Library's online library catalog shared with Washburn University, Kansas State Historical Society, Kansas Supreme Court Law Library and Brown v. Board NHS)