Reginald and Jonathan Carr were originally convicted in connection with nine days of crime in Wichita involving more than 90 counts, including capital murder, kidnapping and rape charges. A jury convicted them in 2004 of eight counts of capital murder—four for each of the four people who died—and sentenced both brothers to death.
The decision also traced the legal history of the case, including a 2014 Kansas Supreme Court ruling reversing seven of eight capital murder convictions due to a technical error in jury instructions and overturning the death sentences. The U.S. Supreme Court later disagreed and sent the case back to Kansas, where additional sentencing issues were addressed in 2022.
In the Friday decision, the court reviewed a third attempt at resentencing after a district judge found the court lacked jurisdiction. The brothers were sentenced to remain in prison at the El Dorado Correctional Facility and have also sought clemency; Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach urged the governor to deny those requests.