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Mark Your Calendar! It's five days to the start of Kansas' first domestic partner registry

Mark Your Calendar! It's five days to the start of Kansas' first domestic partner registry

At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 1, couples will gather at the Lawrence City Hall to become the first to register as domestic partners in the state of Kansas.

Registry will be done via computers in the City Commission room on the first floor. The fee is $75.

Now couples -- both same-sex and straight -- will be able to gain access to health insurance and other benefits already offered by their employers. This is just one of the advantages of being able to legally prove a domestic partner relationship.

Kudos and huzzahs to the Kansas Equality Coalition for winning approval of this important registry. The Equality Coalition has more detail on its web site.

Lawrence domestic partner registry prompts City Hall celebration

Lawrence domestic partner registry prompts City Hall celebration

[updated 5:50 p.m.]
Here are just some of the couples who registered today.

Top: Joyce Shontz and Danita Long have been a committed couple for 6 years. In the background are Tom Witt, state chair of the Kansas Equality Coalition, talking to a reporter. Tom is in the brown suit. Joyce, by the way, is a former president of her church board of directors. Danita teaches in the congregation's Sunday school.

Middle: Jessica Pierson, left, and Jen Humphrey, right, took some time off from work to register.

Bottom: Mike Silverman, left, and Dave Greenbaum, right, have been together for more than a decade.

Neither these photos or any of the others I've posted give a sense of the number of people who crammed into the room. The Equality Coalition had lined up four couples to register, but others kept coming.

Switching off the death penalty

By the Monitor's Editorial Board

This month, the Kansas Legislature is expected to begin hearings on a bill to repeal the death penalty. If the bill passes, Kansas will become the third state in three years to eliminate capital punishment – another encouraging milestone on the way to ending this practice in America.

Last March, New Mexico replaced the death penalty with a maximum sentence of life without parole, as did New Jersey in 2007. If Kansas follows, it will become the 16th state to forgo executions as a criminal justice tool.

The nation has been pulling back from sanctioned killing as a punishment for heinous crimes. In 2009, 106 people were handed death sentences – a record low since 1976, when the US Supreme Court upheld capital punishment.

Last year, the American Law Institute, which put in place the intellectual underpinnings of the modern capital justice system, abandoned its work in this field. The Supreme Court relied heavily on the institute’s framework when it decided to uphold capital punishment. But the institute has concluded that it’s not possible to ensure “a minimally adequate system for administering” the death penalty. A review for the institute cited many problems, including a lack of fairness.

Practical considerations are moving states – and juries – away from capital punishment. A big factor is cost, driven up by the lengthy appeals process and the expense of investigation and litigation when a life is at stake. Kansas estimates, for example, that the median cost of a death penalty case is 70 percent higher than for a murder case where the death penalty is not given.

Juries are also more cautious about mistaken convictions (139 people sentenced to death have been exonerated since 1973). The Supreme Court, too, has narrowed the field of those who may be executed, eliminating juveniles and those diagnosed as mentally retarded. And the death penalty is not an effective deterrent against crime.

But the moral argument against capital punishment should not be forgotten. A government’s job is to preserve life, not compound a terrible wrong by taking another life. A death sentence cuts off the opportunity for redemption and leans on an outdated concept of justice based on revenge.

The practical concerns spurring the anti-death-penalty trend are important, but circumstances can change. The moral imperative does not.
 

Kansas could abolish death penalty to cut costs

By Erin Brown

The state budget crisis has forced Kansas legislators to re-evaluate state spending, leading some lawmakers to review the cost and effectiveness of the Kansas death penalty law.

The Kansas legislature is reviewing Senate Bills 208 and 375, both of which would abolish the death penalty in Kansas. Senate Bill 208 was introduced and debated last year, but no action was taken on the bill.

After three days of hearings, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider Senate Bill 375 Friday, Sen. Marci Francisco (D-Lawrence), said.

“The major concern that brought this topic up again was looking at the cost,” Francisco said. “Obviously we are in a tight budget situation.”

A death penalty prosecution can cost as much as a million dollars, she said, while a life sentence without parole could save taxpayers half a million dollars or more for each case.

According to Senate Bill 208, the median cost of a non-death-penalty murder case was approximately 70 percent less than the median cost of a death sentence.

Kansas re-enacted the death penalty in 1994, but has not carried out an execution since 1965, according to Senate Bill 375.

According to the National Center for State Courts’ website, Kansas has 10 inmates on death row. As the bill now stands, the abolishment of the death penalty, if passed, would not take effect until July 1, 2010.

Although Francisco is not a member of the Judiciary Committee, she said that she was glad the committee had decided to review the death penalty, and that she hoped to debate a bill in the full senate.

“I think senators feel this is a good time to engage again in this discussion and debate,” she said.

George Dungan, a senior from Lincoln, Neb. and vice-president of KU Young Democrats, said he was glad legislators had decided to debate the death penalty, especially during a time of economic instability for the state.

“In a time when Kansas is struggling to make ends meet, it seems absurd to continue an ineffective and expensive program, such as the death penalty,” he said.

Eric Foss, a senior from Overland Park and president of KU College Republicans, said his support for the death penalty hinged on the effectiveness of a state’s appeals process.

“For me, it’s not an argument of whether it is a more effective punishment,” he said. “We need to make sure we aren’t executing innocent people. That’s my primary concern.”

Foss said he thought it was possible the death penalty would end in Kansas.

“I think now, more than ever, because of budget constraints it is pretty likely that the decision to outlaw the death penalty may be made,” he said.

Kansas is one of 35 states with the death penalty, according to the National Center for State Courts. Fifteen states have abolished the death penalty, the most recent being New Mexico, which outlawed the death penalty last year.

Editorial: Kansas needs to repeal the death penalty law

By Caitlin Thornbrugh

With the majority of the nation looking to save even a few dollars, it is not a surprise that the state of Kansas is trying to economize a budget that is becoming more and more of a problem.

On Friday, a Senate committee will review a proposal to repeal the death penalty in Kansas. The Senate should vote in favor of the repeal, not only because it is a human rights issue, but because it will save the state a substantial amount of money.

During a budget crisis, even a traditionally conservative state should see the benefits of saving money from the proposed bill.

Today, The Kansan reported that Sen. Marci Franciso (D-Lawrence) said she thought the primary reason this topic was being discussed was because of the status of the budget. A death penalty prosecution can cost as much as a million dollars, she said, while a life sentence without parole could save taxpayers half a million dollars or more for each case.

According to Senate Bill 208 the average cost of a murder case without the death penalty sentence costs approximately 70 percent less than the average cost of a case that does have a death sentence. The misinformed argument that it is too expensive to impose life sentences without parole is false.

Kansas is one of 35 states that have a death penalty sentence for certain crimes. In Kansas, capital punishment has not been used once since its re-enactment 16 years ago. This lack of use is yet another reason to eliminate an unnecessary, money draining procedure.

Aside from monetary reasons, the death penalty also raises human rights questions. Capital punishment has a history of racism and execution of the innocent. These problems, along with fiscal motivations, establish a firm argument against the death penalty law.

The Senate committee will be making a fiscally responsible decision, as well as voting in favor of human rights, if it passes this bill to the full Senate. Students at the University, who are affected by the state budget, should contact their senators to support repealing the death penalty law.

Bishop testifies against death penalty

Bishop testifies against death penalty

By JOE BOLLIG

TOPEKA — The Catholic Church added its voice to others seeking to repeal capital punishment in Kansas during a three-day hearing Jan. 19 to 21 at the state Capitol.

On Jan. 19, Bishop Michael O. Jackels of the Diocese of Wichita gave testimony of the church’s teaching about the death penalty before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

In his testimony, Bishop Jackels — speaking for the Kansas Catholic Conference — said that the Catholic Church recognizes the duty of the state to protect citizens.

“The church also teaches that the death penalty should not be imposed if there are other ways to guarantee public order and the safety of citizens,” he said.
There were attempts to repeal the state’s death penalty law in 2009. Although a bill went to the full Senate, it wasn’t voted upon because of questions regarding consequences if it became law, said Michael Schuttloffel, executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference.

This year, the Senate is taking the lead with Senate Bill 375, which was scheduled for a vote on Friday, Jan. 29, on whether to send it out of committee to the Senate floor for a vote. “As far as its chances are, it’s hard to say,” said Schuttloffel. “Last year, we never had a final vote in the Senate, where people had to go on the record up or down, so we really don’t know.”

“It’s a very challenging issue for people,” he continued. “There are a lot of people really on the fence who are genuinely conflicted — Catholic legislators who are really torn. So, it’s difficult to know [the legislation’s prospects]. No one has a solid head count.”

The bill’s prospects will be especially challenging this year, because it is also an election year. “This is one of those issues that can try a politician’s courage in an election year, because it’s easy to demagogue the issue,” said Schuttloffel. “It’s easy to get hit over the head [with this] during an election year. And last year just getting it out of committee was by the skin of our teeth — one vote.”

Kansas reinstated the death penalty in 1994, becoming the 35th state to have capital punishment on the books. The state has not executed anyone since June 22, 1965.

Death Penalty Too Costly, Not Deterrent

Death Penalty Too Costly, Not Deterrent

Senator Carolyn McGinn

Because of the state's budget deficit, state legislators are looking at how we fund government today and in the future. We are considering bills that would consolidate and restructure agencies, as well as policy decisions that would reduce government spending.

One policy change being considered is whether the death penalty is worth its higher cost to Kansas citizens, versus the alternative sentence of life in prison without parole we now have on the books.

Since Kansas placed the death penalty on the books in 1994, not one person has been executed. Kansas has not executed anyone since 1965. The Kansas Legislature passed a measure in 2004 creating the sentence of life without parole.

In 2003, a Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit report found that the estimated median cost of a case in which the death sentence was given was about 70 percent more than the median cost of a non-death penalty murder case. This report included information provided by the Kansas Attorney General's Office, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Board of Indigents' Defense Services, and local courts, prosecutors and law enforcement officers.

In testimony Friday in Topeka, Pat Scalia of the Board of Indigents' Defense Services stated that since the re-enactment of the death penalty, 107 cases were filed with charges under the capital murder statute. To date, 26 death penalty trials have been completed, 12 resulting in the death sentence. The cost for the defense through Feb. 23 was $19.9 million.

This added cost is a result of investigation, lengthier trials and the higher cost and frequency of appeals. The appeals process is mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Constitution. The state of Kansas can do little to reduce these costs, which are built into cases involving capital punishment.

Because of the emotional impact, this change in policy cannot be totally weighed in dollars. This is why Senate Bill 208 has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. At its public hearing Thursday, senators heard testimony demonstrating the inconsistency, ineffectiveness and the greater fiscal and emotional burdens of the death penalty system.

The committee also heard much testimony disputing the widely held belief that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to violent crime. The American Society of Criminology surveyed criminologists about their thoughts regarding whether the death penalty was a deterrent to crimes, and the vast majority responded that it was not a deterrent. Further, the life-without-parole sentence has given the state an effective alternative to ensure the most heinous criminals are never able to endanger society again.

Having this discussion in no way diminishes the pain and grief that victims and family members go through. Nor does it indicate that those on death row are not deserving of dying in prison. It does cause one to ask whether lethal injection is worse than being forced to live life in isolation until death.

DCCC Drops $21.5M on 66 Districts

  A special roundup of tonight's independent expenditure filings from the DCCC -- likely their last major buys for the cycle:

District	Incumbent	Buy	CTD
AL-02	Bright	$266,416	$1,401,924
AR-01	OPEN	$538,343	$1,760,295
AZ-01	Kirkpatrick	$270,804	$1,018,678
AZ-05	Mitchell	$269,473	$1,089,934
AZ-07	Grijalva	$82,991	$178,153
AZ-08	Giffords	$132,195	$132,195
CA-11	McNerney	$471,126	$1,011,469
CA-20	Costa	$191,580	$346,583
CO-03	Salazar	$258,248	$1,148,734
CO-07	Perlmutter	$301,064	$465,176
CT-05	Murphy	$274,950	$274,950
FL-02	Boyd	$170,422	$337,516
FL-22	Klein	$315,840	$315,840
FL-25	OPEN	$775,900	$1,394,729
GA-02	Bishop	$256,835	$756,286
GA-08	Marshall	$11,340	$42,321
HI-01	Djou	$126,252	$814,931
IA-01	Braley	$166,944	$180,739
IA-02	Loebsack	$270,353	$578,620
IA-03	Boswell	$157,789	$723,500
IL-10	OPEN	$590,722	$1,725,029
IL-14	Foster	$526,917	$1,283,956
IL-17	Hare	$92,158	$1,091,570
IN-02	Donnelly	$179,712	$729,651
IN-09	Hill	$454,496	$1,305,315
KY-06	Chandler	$133,451	$452,695
MA-10	OPEN	$823,059	$1,390,878
MD-01	Kratovil	$339,824	$1,467,081
MI-01	OPEN	$201,432	$1,274,577
MI-07	Schauer	$354,294	$1,354,383
MI-09	Peters	$497,250	$497,250
MN-01	Walz	$129,922	$255,726
MO-04	Skelton	$458,420	$1,236,357
MS-01	Childers	$224,934	$957,497
NC-07	McIntyre	$62,134	$202,049
NC-08	Kissell	$458,101	$1,705,390
ND-AL	Pomeroy	$294,008	$795,743
NH-02	OPEN	$487,837	$968,365
NJ-03	Adler	$642,132	$642,132
NM-01	Heinrich	$372,240	$860,469
NV-03	Titus	$404,364	$1,354,173
NY-19	Hall	$409,200	$502,692
NY-20	Murphy	$220,230	$674,536
NY-23	Owens	$431,140	$921,679
NY-24	Arcuri	$260,352	$987,973
OH-06	Wilson	$240,781	$596,578
OH-16	Boccieri	$296,096	$1,449,103
OH-18	Space	$277,311	$1,512,696
OR-05	Schrader	$354,767	$1,239,101
PA-07	OPEN	$702,325	$950,105
PA-08	Murphy	$544,222	$544,222
PA-10	Carney	$217,499	$579,489
PA-11	Kanjorski	$196,926	$670,576
PA-12	Critz	$325,011	$1,100,181
SC-05	Spratt	$252,007	$1,124,024
SD-AL	Herseth	$262,822	$344,786
TN-04	Davis	$168,260	$454,260
TX-17	Edwards	$568,953	$626,750
TX-23	Rodriguez	$169,021	$815,577
VA-02	Nye	$88,514	$788,447
VA-05	Perriello	$142,123	$593,713
VA-11	Connolly	$1,079,867	$1,458,790
WA-02	Larsen	$344,383	$605,930
WA-03	OPEN	$562,384	$1,728,123
WI-07	OPEN	$131,383	$880,769
WV-01	OPEN	$210,483	$1,180,131
	Total:	$21,492,332	$57,853,090

Of particular note is the $1 million dropped by the D-trip against Keith Fimian in VA-11.

If the Tea Party Wins, America Loses.

If the Tea Party Wins, America Loses.

Oct. 27: In a Special Comment, Countdown’s Keith Olbermann explains why voting for the Tea Party will mean a step backward for America.

More on the opening of the domestic partner registry

More on the opening of the domestic partner registry

The Rev. Patrick Rogers, pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church of Topeka, attended the event to provide support and celebrate the opening of the registry. Rev. Rogers recently moved to Topeka from Houston.

Remember, you don't have to go to City Hall to register. If you are a resident of Lawrence, meet the other criteria, and pay the fee (have your credit card handy), you and your partner can register online.

Laughter & smiles light up Lawrence City Hall as domestic partner registry launches

Laughter & smiles light up Lawrence City Hall as domestic partner registry launches

Top: Steve Maceli, owner of Maceli's in Lawrence, and his partner, John Connolly, a board member of the Lawrence/Douglas Chapter of the Kansas Equality Coalition, finally get a chance to register their partnership with the city.

Bottom: Some of the crowd at City hall this morning.

Photos by Tom Witt

Wichita-area Legislators Hear From Citizens Before Session Starts

Wichita-area Legislators Hear From Citizens Before Session Starts

Citizens from South Central Kansas gave their legislators plenty of ideas and opinions to take to Topeka for the upcoming 2010 Legislative session. State Representatives and Senators from Wichita and the surrounding area listened as 31 citizens expressed their interests and opinions for nearly two hours Tuesday evening in the jury room of the Sedgwick County Courthouse in Wichita.

Legislators will hear from several governments and interest groups Thursday afternoon during their annual meeting at Wichita State University. The public is also invited to attend Thursday’s meeting but will not be allowed to address the delegation.

Speakers at Tuesday’s meeting addressed a broad range of topics and nearly all thanked the delegation for their service. Many said they recognized the challenges legislators face in balancing the state’s budget during tough economic times.

Concerns about judicial corruption and children unnecessarily taken from their families by state agencies were the most common topics. About a third of the speakers asked for better checks on the state’s judicial system. Some made allegations of corruption and called for granting subpoena power to the Government Efficiency and Fiscal Oversight Committee chaired by Rep. Jim Morrison, (R-Colby) or creation of a citizen’s grand jury independent of the judiciary.

Several speakers said too many children are being taken from their parents by judges and state agencies. A few said a profit motive was involved and alleged collusion with contractors to garner childcare payments from parents as well as money from state and federal sources.

A recent Legislative Post Audit report (pdf) examined allegations that Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) workers were “bullied” by district attorney’s offices. The audit found that about 80% of social workers statewide didn’t feel pressured to distort their reports but in Sedgwick County about half felt that way.

Recent hearings by the Joint Committee on Children’s Issues heard statistics and examples illustrating the problem.  Rep. Bill Otto (R-LeRoy) told KansasWatchdog, “the State of Kansas takes children away from parents — severing their parental rights — when the parent in question has committed no crime.  The child has committed no crime.  But they just didn’t do what the nanny state told them to. I think I need to do something about that.”

Possible tax increases were also on the minds of citizens addressing the delegation. Kip Schroeder of Wichita said it would be hard for legislators to balance the budget without tax increases as private sector employment falls and public sector employment increases. “I ask that as you go (to Topeka) you allow us the opportunity to persevere through adversity, that you not raise our taxes under any circumstances.”

John Todd, representing Americans for Prosperity, asked legislators to not raise taxes. “This is not a time to raise taxes on businesses and families that are struggling to pay their bills and trying to maintain their jobs. Economic recovery will come from the private sector, particularly small businesses that don’t need a rollback of hard-fought tax relief gained in previous legislative sessions.”

Kansas Policy Institute President Dave Trabert summarized recent research showing significant opportunities for savings through increasing efficiency and spending down cash balances before cutting services or raising taxes.

Several speakers asked legislators to cease or reduce funding for Planned Parenthood.

Speakers were uniformly courteous, though one speaker gave the delegation an earful of criticism. He named and facetiously thanked several members of the delegation for their votes in the last session against coal-fired electric plants in Western Kansas and in favor of wind-generated power, votes he blamed for rising electric bills.

“What were you thinking? Haven’t any of you toured electric plants? Didn’t any of you know the drawbacks of wind power? Did you know how much electricity costs from any power source?” He reminded legislators that wind-powered electric generators are heavily subsidized by taxpayers and that wind, even in Kansas, is not a reliable source of electricity.

Rep. Melody McCray-Miller (D-Wichita), who chaired the forum, extended the meeting beyond its scheduled 8:30 p.m. wrap-up to allow all who sighed up to speak to do so. The last speaker, Paul Rhodes of Wichita, thanked the legislators and noted the many hard decisions they would face in the upcoming session.

Rhodes, in effect, summarized the tenor of the preceding speakers by asking that legislators reduce the tax burden on citizens, provide better access to justice for all and “correction of high crimes under the color of law.”

“My belief is that under every bad economy is a moral or ethical problem. Some say the opposite of love is hate. The opposite of love is indifference.”