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Support for abolition in Kansas extends across the political spectrum
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OUR FEATURED POSTS

The Landscape of the Kansas Death Penalty at 31–Part One

August 18, 2025

  On July 1st, the Kansas death penalty turned 31 years old. KCADP board members have encountered persons who don’t even know Kansas HAS a death penalty.  We hope this article might bring a broader awareness of where capital punishment has been/is being sought in our state. What is capital murder? Under the law, capital murder is defined as intentional premeditated murder with one or more of these factors: kidnapping or aggravated kidnapping for ransom; contract murder; murder of any person by an inmate in a correctional facility; murder of a victim of rape, criminal sodomy, or aggravated criminal sodomy […]

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Judge Klapper cites critical flaws with Kansas’ death penalty

May 5, 2025

The Kansas death penalty has been ‘on trial’ before Judge Bill Klapper in Wyandotte District Court since late October 2024. The State Board of Indigent Defense Services, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Kansas ACLU, and attorneys from Hogan Lovells, and Ali & Lockwood filed a constitutional challenge on behalf of two men who were charged with capital murder in Wyandotte County.  Their motion claimed that the Kansas capital punishment system was unconstitutional under state and federal law because it is cruel, unusual, biased and arbitrary. On April 16th Judge Klapper released his decision.  The constitutional challenge was ruled moot […]

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OUR RECENT POSTS

..”.the ultimate failed big government program”..

On August 14th,  “Kansas’ death penalty is the ultimate failed big government program. Time to end it | Opinion” was published in the Kansas City Star and the Wichita Eagle.   Authored by Senator Carolyn McGinn and Kelson Bohnet, a capital litigator and KCADP board member, the commentary … [ Read More... ]

Thirty years of the Kansas Death Penalty: It’s not Symbolic

On July 1st, the Kansas death penalty law turned thirty.  As we talk with ordinary Kansans, we discover that on occasion, someone does not even know that Kansas has a death penalty law on the books. Here are some basic stats. 15 men have been sentenced to death. 9 inmates are … [ Read More... ]

Senate Execution Method Bill Introduced

      On Monday March 4th, SB 534 was introduced by Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee.  It has been referred to Senate Judiciary. This bill contains the same faulty elements as HB 2782. The bill would provide for an option of hypoxia as an alternative … [ Read More... ]

Kansas House Judiciary Hears Death Penalty Related Bill

HB 2782—Execution by Hypoxia+ Hearing: On February 8th the House Judiciary Committee introduced HB 2782 to provide an alternate method of execution, by infliction of hypoxia, and to also make changes in the legal process.  The bill also would make changes in who chooses the drugs for lethal … [ Read More... ]

March 1st Christina Swarns: Justice Delayed is Democracy Denied

Christina Swarns, Executive Director of the Innocence Project, will speak at the March 1st Peace Lecture at Bethel College.  The time is 7 p.m. and the location will be Memorial Hall. Her keynote title is "Justice Delayed is Democracy Denied". The next day she will participate in a keynote … [ Read More... ]