(Photo credit: KHI.org)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Attorneys and state officials say it's too early to tell if justices of the Kansas Supreme Court will approve changes made this week to the state's Hard 50 prison sentence. Legislators finished work on the measure Wednesday, and Republican Governor Sam Brownback is expected to sign it into law in the coming weeks. The measure was passed in response to a June U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a Virginia case that held that juries, not judges, should determine such extended prison sentences. Attorneys said Thursday that it would be several months before legislators know for certain whether the Kansas Supreme Court will allow the changes in process to apply retroactively to 45 cases either still in the trial stages or being appealed.