***MEDIA ADVISORY***
MONDAY: Historic Hearings Begin in Case Challenging the Death Penalty and Death Qualification in Kansas
CONTACT:
Emily Berkowitz, ACLU, [email protected]
WHAT:
Hearings will begin on Monday, October 28, in a sweeping challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty in Kansas, as well as the practice of death qualification. Death qualification excludes those who oppose the death penalty from juries, disproportionately excluding Black prospective jurors, women, and people of individual faiths who oppose capital punishment.
Throughout the week, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, the Kansas Death Penalty Unit, Hogan Lovells, and Ali & Lockwood will present testimony from historians, legal experts, and researchers. These experts will highlight how death qualification, by systemically barring Black Kansans from fully participating in jury service, undermines the constitutional right to a fair and impartial jury.
This case marks a critical moment in the fight against not only the practice of death qualification, but also the legacy of racial bias in Kansas’ death penalty system.
WHO:
• Cassandra Stubbs, director of the ACLU Capital Punishment Project
• Professor Carol Steiker, Harvard Law professor and expert on the history and application of the death penalty in the United States and Kansas
• Professor Shawn Alexander, University of Kansas professor and expert on the history of race relations in Kansas
Spokespeople available for onsite interviews post-hearing, including the legal team, state legislators, and faith leaders.
WHEN:
Hearings are set to begin Monday, October 28, at 9 a.m. CT/10 a.m. ET. The court is scheduled to hear evidence all week through Friday, November 1. The court will hear one final day of expert testimony on January 9, 2025.
WHERE:
Wyandotte County Courthouse, Div. 13
710 N 7th St
Kansas City, KS 66101
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