Who is on Kansas’ death row?
These 10 men are facing death sentences in Kansas. They are listed chronologically in order of when their crimes were committed. The county of conviction and sentencing year appear in parentheses.
An eleventh inmate, Douglas Belt, died in prison last year while waiting for his appeal to be heard by the Kansas Supreme Court.
So far, four of their death sentences have been upheld by the Kansas Supreme Court. The last state executions, by hanging, were in 1965.
▪ 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 in October 2016.
▪ 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 in October 2016.
▪ 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. It later upheld the sentence in a 4-3 ruling in February 2017.
▪ 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. The Kansas Supreme Court heard oral arguments in his appeal in December 2016.
▪ 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.
Amy Renee Leiker: 316-268-6644, @amyreneeleiker
FORMER KANSAS DEATH-ROW INMATES
Since Kansas brought back capital punishment in July 1994, juries have condemned 15 men to death. Four later had their sentences changed. They are listed below with their county of conviction and sentencing year in parentheses.
▪ Michael Marsh (Sedgwick County, 1998): Convicted of shooting and killing Marry Ane Pusch on June 17, 1996, and setting a fire that killed her 18-month-old daughter. The Kansas Supreme Court overturned Marsh’s capital murder conviction and later ordered a new trial after the U.S. Supreme Court heard an appeal in the case. He agreed to plead guilty to two counts of first-degree murder and is serving two life prison sentences. Now 41, he’s incarcerated at El Dorado Correctional Facility.
▪ Gavin Scott (Sedgwick County, 2010): Convicted of the Sept. 13, 1996, shooting deaths of Doug and Beth Brittain in their rural Goddard home. The Kansas Supreme Court overturned Scott’s death sentence, and he was resentenced to two life prison terms for two counts of first-degree murder after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors. Now 38, he’s incarcerated at Lansing Correctional Facility.
▪ Stanley Elms (Sedgwick County, 2000): Convicted of capital murder in the May 4, 1998, rape and killing of his neighbor Regina Gray. In 2004, Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston dropped his death penalty and agreed to let Elms serve life in prison if he halted an appeal accusing prosecutors of misconduct at his trial. He was resentenced to a “Hard 40” life in prison – no parole eligibility for 40 years. Now 40, he’s incarcerated at Ellsworth Correctional Facility.
▪ Phillip Cheatham Jr. (Shawnee County, 2015): Convicted of capital murder in the shooting deaths of Annette Roberson and Gloria Jones after he opened fire on a Topeka duplex in December 2003. A third woman played dead and survived 19 gunshot wounds. In 2013, the Kansas Supreme Court threw out Cheatham’s convictions over incompetent counsel and ordered a new trial. In his case, the constitutionality of the death penalty wasn’t at issue. Cheatham avoided a death sentence a second time by pleading no contest earlier this year as jury selection was beginning for his second trial. Now 44, he is incarcerated at the prison in Hutchinson and will be eligible for parole in 2028.
Sources: Wichita Eagle news archives, Kansas Department of Corrections
This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 11:28 AM.
