Former DA Foulston: Brownback’s Carr brothers ad ‘beyond disgraceful’

The former district attorney who prosecuted the Carr brothers murder case said Wednesday she thinks it’s “reprehensible” for Gov. Sam Brownback to use the case as fodder in a re-election campaign ad.

“This case has devastated our community for almost 14 years,” former Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston said in a statement sent to Kansas news media. “It is beyond disgraceful that Sam Brownback would exploit this tragedy and make the victims’ families relive that horrific crime every time they turn on their television just for the sake of getting re-elected.”

Foulston, who retired last year as district attorney, is the most recent Democrat to hold a countywide elected office in Sedgwick County.

In a statement issued by his campaign staff, Brownback, a Republican, said he appreciated Foulston’s service in prosecuting the Carr brothers, but he reiterated that he thinks his opponent, House Minority Leader Paul Davis, would appoint judges who are more liberal than those Brownback would select.

At issue is a Brownback campaign ad that attempts to link Davis to a controversial decision by the Kansas Supreme Court to vacate the death sentences of Jonathan and Reginald Carr. The brothers were convicted of murdering five people, including a brutal execution-style quadruple murder, during a weeklong crime spree of killing, rape and robbery in Wichita in December 2000.

“Brownback panders to the emotions of citizens to suggest that in some way Paul Davis caused or created the Kansas Supreme Court’s ruling in the Carr cases,” Foulston said. “I am very disappointed that the governor, who is also an attorney bound by the Rules of Professional Responsibility, has forgotten his legal obligations in a political last ditch effort to recklessly undercut the qualifications and integrity of the Kansas Supreme Court and Paul Davis.”

Davis, a lawyer, had no role in the original case or the appeal.

In setting aside the Carrs’ death sentences, the Supreme Court ruled that the trial judge, the late Sedgwick County District Court Judge Paul Clark, erred by refusing to hold separate sentencing proceedings for the two brothers. Their lawyers had argued that trying the brothers in the same penalty phase forced them to damage each others’ defenses.

The Supreme Court also found that jurors had not been properly instructed in the required standards of proof for a death sentence and that the Carrs’ rights were violated by admission of hearsay evidence during the penalty phase.

The state Supreme Court upheld their convictions on one count of capital murder and they remain in prison.

Foulston, who is now in private practice, said she was disappointed in the state Supreme Court decision and noted it has already been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. “There will ultimately be justice for the victims and their families,” she said.

Brownback said during and after a debate Tuesday that he thinks it’s justified to link Davis to the Supreme Court decision because Davis would appoint judges who are more liberal than those Brownback would pick.

Davis also opposes Brownback-proposed legislation to expand the governor’s power in appointing Supreme Court justices.

“The Kansas Supreme Court is a very liberal court,” Brownback said Tuesday. “Paul Davis wants to continue to appoint liberal judges to that court. I want to appoint judges who will interpret the law, not rewrite it as they choose to see it.”

Foulston said: “If Sam Brownback wants to have a debate about judicial selection or the death penalty, that is an appropriate discussion to have. But to try to exploit this (Carr) case and reopen the wounds and pain experienced by the families and this community for political gain is reprehensible.”

This story was originally published October 22, 2014 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Former DA Foulston: Brownback’s Carr brothers ad ‘beyond disgraceful’."