[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----KAN., UTAH

[Rick Halperin]

April 3



KANSAS:

U.S. Supreme Court to hear Kansas death penalty case April 25


The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled new arguments over the Kansas death
penalty for April 25, the court announced Monday.

Justices will decide whether the Kansas death penalty law is
constitutional and if a Dec. 17, 2004, ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court
should be overturned. The U.S. Supreme Court first heard the case in
December 2005, but announced March 24 that it was deadlocked on the case.

Each side will get 30 minutes to appear before the court, which will
include Justice Samuel Alito, who replaced retiring Justice Sandra Day
O'Connor. Attorney General Phill Kline will represent the state, while
Rebecca E. Woodman will represent Marsh Marsh II.

O'Connor was a swing vote in death penalty cases, sometimes joining the
four more liberal members in throwing out death sentences.

The 1994 law says if the evidence for and against imposing a death
sentence is equal, Kansas juries must impose death instead of life in
prison. The state Supreme Court struck it down, invalidating the death
sentences of six convicted killers.

The ruling involved Marsh's death sentence for killing a woman and her
19-month-old daughter in 1996.

Fifteen states had filed friend-of-the-court briefs predicting that a
ruling against Kansas would require states with capital punishment to set
up special systems for juries to weigh evidence at sentencing.

The case is Kansas v. Marsh, 04-1170.

U.S. Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov

Kansas Supreme Court: http://www.kscourts.org

(source: Associated Press)






UTAH:

Death Row Inmate to Argue for New Trial


A Utah death row inmate wants a new trial, claiming his public defense
attorney botched his first one.

Von Lester Taylor will go before the Utah Supreme Court tomorrow, with
more than two dozen claims his lawyer failed in several areas, from jury
selection to providing adequate evidence.

The appeal comes after the high court upheld Taylor's conviction.

Taylor escaped from a prison halfway house and broke into a Summit County
mountain cabin in 1990. Authorities say he shot and killed 2 people
inside, injured another, kidnapped 2 girls, and set the cabin on fire.

(source: KSL News)