Surviving victim of Carr brothers speaks out against court ruling

My name is Andy Schreiber. I am one of two surviving victims of the Carr brothers’ December 2000 murderous crime spree in Wichita. I’ve sat silently for more than 12 years, but I’m now breaking that silence to share my thoughts on the recent Kansas Supreme Court ruling vacating the death sentences for both brothers (July 26 Eagle). This decision left me no choice but to speak out.

The death penalty is a legally acceptable penalty: It is not murder. It is a valid and legal form of punishment that was voted on and enacted by the Kansas Legislature. What the Supreme Court has done – not only in the Carr brothers’ case, but in all other capital murder cases since the death penalty was re-enacted in 1994 – is effectively eliminate the death penalty by judicial edict. A majority of the Supreme Court justices have allowed their personal political views of the death penalty to cloud their impartiality in these cases. The reason the U.S. Supreme Court has reinstated several of the death sentences vacated by the Kansas Supreme Court is because these decisions were legally flawed.

Everyone is entitled to a fair trial, not a perfect trial. I challenge anyone to find a perfect capital murder trial where no errors were made, especially a case as complicated as this one. However, in a case like this one where evidence of guilt is so overwhelming and where any error, when weighed against the totality of the evidence presented against each defendant, could not possibly have resulted in a different verdict had it not occurred, the case should be affirmed. That was basically then-Justice Nancy Moritz’s dissenting opinion in this 6-1 decision to vacate both death sentences.

Any retrial or resentencing is an enormous waste of time and taxpayer money, not to mention the anguish it will cause the victims and our families, as we’re forced to relive each and every horrifying detail of the crimes all over again – twice – because of the separate penalty trials ordered by the state Supreme Court.

In the 14 years since these vicious crimes were committed, those of us affected by these two animals have picked up the pieces and carried on with our lives. We’ve started families and careers, though all the while haunted by the possibility of having to do this all over again.

Eric Rosen and Lee Johnson are two of the justices who voted to vacate the death sentences in this case. Appointed Supreme Court justices must face a retention vote every six years, and both Rosen and Johnson will be on the Nov. 4 ballot. I urge you to speak out, just as I have here, and vote “no” to remove Rosen and Johnson from the bench.

This story was originally published October 23, 2014 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Surviving victim of Carr brothers speaks out against court ruling."