May 31 KANSAS: Top court to decide Kansas death penalty law The U.S. Supreme Court said on Tuesday that it would hear an appeal by Kansas of a state high court ruling that struck down the state's death penalty law. The justices agreed to review a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that declared the law unconstitutional because it requires the death penalty be imposed when the sentencing jury finds the evidence for and against the defendant to be equal. "The constitutionality of Kansas' death penalty statute and similar statutes in other states is an important issue that merits this court's attention," Attorney General Phill Kline said in the appeal. The case involved Michael Marsh, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to death for the 1996 fatal shooting of a 21-year-old woman and for then setting her house on fire, killing her 19-month-old daughter. In striking down the law, the Kansas Supreme Court in December overturned Marsh's death sentence. The justices will hear arguments in the case and then will issue a ruling during their upcoming term that begins in October. (source: Reuters) NORTH CAROLINA: House committee gives blessing to death penalty moratorium bill A state House committee has given its support to a bill that would stop executions in the state for 2 years. The measure is meant to allow time to study whether capital punishment is fairly handed out. The moratorium bill was already passed by the state Senate, and Tuesday morning, a House judiciary committee voted to give it a favorable report. It could come before the full House Tuesday afternoon. North Carolina has executed 36 people since the reinstatement of capital punishment almost 30 years ago. (source: Associated Press)
