Oral arguments set in death-row inmate’s appeal

▪ Did the prosecutor commit reversible misconduct during defense counsel's closing argument?

▪ Did the district court's comments during trial deny Kahler a fair trial?

▪ Did the district court err in denying a jury instruction on the defense expert's testimony?

▪ Did the district court err in limiting the jury's consideration of the evidence of mental disease or defect?

▪ Did the district court err in failing to instruct on felony murder?

▪ Did the district court err in prohibiting defense counsel from questioning prospective jurors about the death penalty?

▪ Did cumulative error deny Kahler a fair trial?

▪ Is the Kansas death penalty categorically disproportionate punishment?

▪ Did the two aggravating factors submitted by the State properly channel jury discretion?

▪ Was there sufficient evidence that the killings were committed in a heinous, atrocious, and cruel manner?

These 10 men are facing death sentences in Kansas (with county and year of sentencing in parentheses). They are listed chronologically in order of when their crimes were committed. An 11th died in prison earlier this year while waiting for his appeal to be heard by the Kansas Supreme Court.

▪ Gary Kleypas (Crawford County, 2008): For the March 30, 1996, rape and murder of 20-year-old Carrie Williams, a Pittsburg State University student. The Kansas Supreme Court overturned his sentence in 2001, but another jury condemned him to death again in 2008. His second death sentence was upheld Friday.

▪ John E. Robinson Sr. (Johnson County, 2002): For the murders of Izabel Lewicka and Suzette Trouten, whose bodies were found in barrels on his property in rural Linn County. He was also sentenced to life in prison for killing Lisa Stasi, who disappeared in 1985 and was never found. The Kansas Supreme Court upheld his death sentence in November 2015.

▪ Jonathan and Reginald Carr (Sedgwick County, 2002): For four shooting deaths in Wichita during a crime spree in December 2000. Found guilty of invading a home, sexually abusing the five residents, forcing them to withdraw money from ATMs, then shooting them in a soccer field. Killed were Jason Befort, Brad Heyka, Heather Muller and Aaron Sander. The Kansas Supreme Court threw out their death sentences but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision and sent the cases back for further review in 2015.

▪ Douglas Belt (Sedgwick County, 2004): For the June 25, 2002, sexual assault and decapitation of Lucille Gallegos in a vacant west Wichita apartment, where she was a housekeeper. Belt died in prison in April 2016, before his appeal could be heard. The Kansas Supreme Court agreed to take up issues that could lead to Belt’s exoneration and upheld his capital murder conviction Friday.

▪ Sidney Gleason (Barton County, 2006): For the shooting deaths of Miki Martinez and her boyfriend, Darren Wornkey, on Feb. 24, 2004. Prosecutors said Gleason and his cousin Damian Thompson worried that Martinez would tell police about their involvement in the stabbing and robbery of a 76-year-old man. The Kansas Supreme Court threw out his death sentence but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that decision and sent the case back for further review in 2015.

▪ Scott Cheever (Greenwood County, 2007): For the January 2005 shooting of Sheriff Matt Samuels at a home near Virgil, where authorities also found a suspected methamphetamine lab. The Kansas Supreme Court overturned Cheever’s conviction in 2012, saying his right against self-incrimination was violated by prosecutors who used a court-ordered mental evaluation from a different trial against him. A year later, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the decision, noting that Cheever’s own expert raised the issue of whether methamphetamine use had damaged his brain. The Kansas Supreme Court upheld Cheever’s death sentence in July 2016.

▪ Justin Thurber (Cowley County, 2009): For the January 2007 abduction, sexual assault and killing of 19-year-old college student Jodi Sanderholm. Her body was found in a wooded area near where her car had been sunk in a lake. His appeal hasn’t been heard yet by the Kansas Supreme Court.

▪ James Kraig Kahler (Osage County, 2011): For the November 2009 murders of his estranged wife, Karen Kahler; her grandmother, 89-year-old Dorothy Wight; and the Kahlers’ daughters, Emily, 18, and Lauren, 16. Kahler was reportedly upset that his wife had allegedly taken a female lover and filed for divorce. His appeal hasn’t been heard yet by the Kansas Supreme Court.

▪ Frazier Glenn Miller Jr. (Johnson County, 2015): For the April 2014 shooting deaths of three people outside Kansas City-area Jewish sites. His appeal hasn’t been heard yet by the Kansas Supreme Court.

▪ Kyle Trevor Flack (Franklin County, 2016): For the shooting deaths of three adults and an 18-month-old child. His appeal hasn’t been heard yet by the Kansas Supreme Court.