Nearly 40 years after her mother was murdered near Houston, a Pawnee County resident says the death penalty has failed to bring healing or meaningful justice and is urging Gov. Laura Kelly to commute the death sentences of nine men currently on Kansas’ death row to life without parole. In her view, the sentences do not serve victims’ families or the public.
The writer, a retired U.S. Navy reservist and retired National Park Service employee, describes how her family was assured a death sentence was deserved, and how later experience convinced her the system compounds suffering rather than preventing future violence. She also argues the process can create a sense that some homicide victims’ families receive a “higher” form of justice than others.
She points to resource costs and urges Kansas to take a close look at whether keeping the death penalty is justified. She has previously testified before the Kansas Legislature about ending the death penalty, and she says commuting the current death-row sentences could open the door to evaluating whether the policy should remain in place.