- Lawyers representing two brothers sentenced to death in the “Wichita Massacre” quadruple slayings will argue for a formal retrial hearing Monday.
- Jonathan and Reginald Carr allegedly forced five victims to perform sexual acts and robbed them before shooting them in 2000.
- There are currently nine people on death row in Kansas, with no executions since 1965.
Lawyer of two brothers who were sentenced to death quadruple murder The case, known as the “Wichita Massacre,” will be formally argued for a sentencing hearing on Monday, the latest in a long series of appeals.
How the sentencing was handled has long been a point of controversy as the two brothers – Jonathan and Reginald Carr – had a joint hearing when jurors considered their punishment. Prosecutors plan to oppose the latest effort.
Prosecutors have long argued that the brothers broke into a house in December 2000, forced three men and two women present there to have sex with each other and later withdraw money from an ATM. Jonathan Carr was 20 and Reginald Carr was 23 when the murders occurred; They are now 44 and 46, and both are being held at the state’s maximum-security prison in El Dorado, about 30 miles northeast of Wichita.
US Supreme Court refuses to hear ‘Wichita Massacre’ appeal
According to authorities, all five victims were women who were repeatedly raped before being taken to a football field and shot. Four of them died: Aaron Sander, 29; Brad Heyka, 27; Jason Befort, 26; and Heather Muller, 25. The woman who survived testified against the Carr brothers. He was also convicted of murdering another man in a separate attack.
This combination of 2013 file photos provided by the Kansas Department of Corrections shows Reginald Carr, left, and Jonathan Carr. Attorneys for two brothers who were sentenced to death in a quadruple murder known as the “Wichita Massacre” will argue for a formal retrial hearing on Monday. (Kansas Department of Corrections via AP, file)
Each brother accused the other of doing Crime,
Nine people have been sentenced to death in Kansas, but the state has not executed anyone since murder duo James Latham and George York were executed on the same day in June 1965.
Lawyers for both brothers raised concerns in the latest round of court filings that trial lawyers were ineffective – Reginald Carr’s defense said they were “excessive” – and aggressively sought to give themselves more time to prepare for the continuance. Failed to exert pressure. They also agreed that potential jurors were not properly questioned about racial biases. The brothers are black, their victims are white.
Reginald Carr’s attorney also investigated the exchange of racist, sexist and homophobic texts and images by members of the Wichita Police Department. Several people were eventually disciplined, and Carr’s lawyer wrote that one of them was involved in the investigation of the brothers.
From there, the brothers’ lawyers delve into their court filings. Jonathan Carr’s attorneys argued that trial lawyers failed to investigate and present evidence that Reginald Carr, who is older, had a strong influence on his younger brother and sexually abused him. A Kansas Department of Corrections evaluation conducted just days after Jonathan Carr was sentenced to death said he “idealized his brother,” his lawyers wrote.
Meanwhile, Reginald Carr’s lawyers wrote that trial lawyers were unwilling to refute Jonathan’s defense, which was described as “largely family members are at the mercy of Jonathan Carr’s life rather than the life of his older brother.” Were ready to save.” And he further argued that the DNA evidence and identification were actually stronger against Jonathan Carr.
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Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant requests for formal retrial hearings for each defendant. This action came less than a year after the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the brothers received a fair trial and upheld their death sentences.
A Kansas court upheld his conviction in 2014 but overturned his death sentence, concluding that not holding separate trials violated the U.S. Constitution. US Supreme Court That decision was overturned in 2016 and the case returned to the Kansas Supreme Court.
When the Kansas Supreme Court took up the brothers’ cases again, their lawyers questioned how their cases were not tried separately when jurors were considering whether the death penalty was necessary. Other issues he raised included the instructions that were given to jurors and how the closing arguments were conducted.
The majority of the Kansas court concluded that although the lower court judge and prosecutors made mistakes, those errors did not justify overturning his death sentence.
