In the first part of this series, we looked at how the law defines capital murder and initial decisions by the prosecutor on charging and the question of death notice. Those are just the first of a series of decision points in Kansas capital cases.
Decision point 2: go to trial or plea bargain?
In this pre trial phase, both prosecution and defense are gathering data on the defendant and the case. Sometimes information comes to light that sheds new light on the crime or on the defendant.
If the prosecutor filed capital and gave death notice, as the case proceeds forward, there comes a second decision point. Should there be a plea offer or should it go to trial?
Under the current Kansas death penalty law, 14 counties have had a capital murder case go to trial with a death notice in place. Counties with more than one capital trial with a death notice are Sedgwick (9), Wyandotte (3), Johnson (3), Shawnee (2), and Dickinson (2).
