U.S. Supreme Court denies appeals of two men sentenced to capital murder

WICHITA, Kan. (WIBW) - The appeals of two Kansas men sentenced to death for capital murder have been denied by the U.S. Supreme Court, according to Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office.

Jonathan and Reginald Carr were convicted of capital murder for the death of four people in Wichita and have since been sentenced to death. The two have appealed their case to U.S. Supreme Court for the second time, and the court has denied their appeals.

According to Schmidt’s office, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, the two defendants have now exhausted their direct appeals. The two still have a chance to file additional lawsuits through the state and federal courts to prevent their executions.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reinstate the defendants’ death sentences in 2016 after the Kansas Supreme Court decided to overturn their sentences. The higher court then reversed the Kansas Supreme Court’s decision, and back in 2022, the Kansas Supreme Court rejected the additional challenges to the convictions and death sentences.

Right now, nine people face a death sentence in Kansas. After today’s decision, Schmidt’s office said that seven of the nine people have exhausted their direct appeals, which means their convictions and sentences have been finalized, and they now must go through the process of collateral litigation. The nine people that face death sentences are the Carr brothers, Gary Kleypas, John Robinson, Sydney Gleason, Scott Cheever, James Kraig Kahler, Justin Thurber, and Kyle Flack.

Flack and Thurber are the two cases still fighting their direct appeals.