The Kansas Supreme Court (Photo credit: kscourts.org)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Republican Governor Sam Brownback is endorsing an effort to persuade Kansas voters to remove two justices from the state Supreme Court. Brownback said during a news conference Thursday that he's voting against retaining Justices Lee Johnson and Eric Rosen in the November 4 election. The governor has criticized the court for its July ruling that overturned the death sentences of brothers Jonathan and Reginald Carr, convicted of killing five people in Wichita in December 2000. Members of the victims' families formed a group to work to remove the justices. Brownback would fill vacancies on the seven-member court. Johnson and Rosen were appointed by former Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Governors appoint justices after a commission names three finalists. Voters decide every six years whether a justice is retained on the bench.