Death Sentences Upheld in 'Wichita Massacre'
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has upheld the death sentences of two brothers who were sentenced in 2002 for four killings known as “the Wichita massacre.” Jonathan and Reginald Carr argued that a ruling declaring that the state constitution protects access to abortion opened the door to a new legal attack on the death penalty. But the majority disagreed in upholding the death sentences for the brothers in separate opinions. The brothers were sentenced to die over a home invasion in December 2000 that included robbery, rape, torture and the execution-style shootings of four victims. Other crimes over six days left a fifth person dead.
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Kansas Senate Passes Redistricting Map
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans have used their supermajority to win Kansas Senate approval for a redistricting plan that likely would make it harder for the state’s only Democrat in Congress to win reelection this year. The nearly four-hour debate ahead of the Senate’s 26-9 vote Friday previewed the arguments that attorneys for both parties may use during an expected court challenge over any new lines. The bill goes next to the House. Both proposals would carve thousands of Democratic voters out of the Kansas City-area district held by Democratic U.S. Representative Sharice Davids. Both also would put Lawrence at the far eastern edge of an expanded central and western Kansas district.
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Governor Kelly Extends Staffing Help for Hospitals, Nursing Homes
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly signed a bill Friday extending executive orders that help address crippling shortages of medical personnel and nursing home workers. One order allows hospital staff to perform a broader range of duties. The other makes licensing of nursing home workers more flexible so homes can hire people whose licenses have lapsed and fill less-skilled jobs with workers who have relatively little or no previous training. Kelly announced the orders earlier this month as COVID-19 cases soared, but they could only remain in place for 15 days unless lawmakers took action. The bill Kelly signed extends the orders through next January.
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Kansas Teen's Death Put Spotlight on 'Stand your Ground' Law
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Even some Republicans who have supported the “stand your ground law” in Kansas want to revisit it following the death of a Black teenager who was restrained at a juvenile intake center in Wichita last September. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said this week that the law prevented him from charging the local juvenile center's employees in the death of 17-year-old Cedric Lofton, who’d been restrained on the ground on his stomach, shackled and handcuffed for more than 30 minutes. Legislators said they intended the law to apply to homeowners facing down burglars or people who are attacked on the streets. The Kansas House speaker said this week that he wants to review the law.
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Man Sentenced in 2017 Killing of 18-year-old Topeka Woman
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the 2017 killing of an 18-year-old Topeka woman. Twenty-year-old Javon Amond Smith was sentenced Thursday for second-degree murder and other crimes linked to the death of Kianna Cherise Hodges. Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said Topeka police were called on March 4, 2017, after a man on foot shot into two separate vehicles, killing Hodges and wounding four other people. New information emerged during a cold case review in 2020, leading to Smith's arrest. Smith pleaded guilty in October to second-degree murder and criminal discharge of a weapon into an occupied vehicle.
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Man Arrested More than 2 Years after Wichita Fatal Crash
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man accused of causing a fatal motorcycle crash in Wichita more than two years ago has been arrested on charges of involuntary manslaughter while under the influence and operating without a proper license. The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office says 31-year-old Travis James Brent Bryson was arrested Wednesday at his home after being charged last week in the July 21, 2019, crash that killed 45-year-old Christopher Monk of Wichita. Investigators say the crash happened late at night on Interstate 135 when the motorcycle Bryson was operating hit a highway barrier. Investigators say Monk, who was a passenger on the bike, was thrown over the side of an overpass and died at the scene. Bryson suffered serious injuries in the crash.
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Kansas Fire Officials Determine Several Rural Fires were Arson
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — Fire officials say several rural brush fires set in two Kansas counties were arson. The fires were set Tuesday in Chase and Lyon counties. No one was injured and no buildings were damaged. The Emporia Gazette reports the Kansas Fire Marshal’s office believes the fires are connected and is helping with the investigation. Chase County Sheriff Richard Dorneker said four fires were reported in his county Tuesday morning. He said it's not clear how those fires were set. Lyon County crews handled at least seven brush fires in Tuesday afternoon and evening, most of them west of Emporia.
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Kansas Works to Increase COVID-19 Testing amid High Demand
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas health officials say they are working to improve the availability of COVID-19 testing. The department says as positive COVID-19 cases rise, the demand for testing is also increasing, causing delays in receiving tests and getting test results. In response, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment says it is increasing staffing at existing testing sites and working to add 13 new testing sites. The department says it looking for new laboratories to reduce waits for test results and is searching for large indoor testing locations to prevent closures because of weather. Also Thursday, the state confirmed a seventh child has died from COVID-19.
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These area headlines are curated by KPR news staffers, including J. Schafer, Laura Lorson, Kaye McIntyre, and Tom Parkinson. Our headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays, 11 am weekends. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today!