“Attorney General Derek Schmidt briefed the House Judiciary Committee and the Republican House caucus on the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the infamous 2000 Carr brothers murder case in Wichita – in which the top court affirmed the brothers’ death sentences and overturned a previous ruling from the Kansas Supreme Court. The horrible events surrounding the murders of four innocent people already have been politicized in a way that is revolting. But this week, it has been used again to inflame lawmakers’ emotions in the hope that they will support a bill that will come to a vote on Thursday – HB 5005, which would give Gov. Sam Brownback and subsequent governors inordinate power over the Kansas Supreme Court…
“Such actions by legislative leadership reveal where the true threat lies – in a blind effort to supplant reasonable, balanced government with one where power lies in the hands of a few and objection is silenced. Invoking the emotionally charged Carr brothers case might be the most egregious example, but there are others.
“Some Topeka insiders even speculate that the recent bill to consolidate the state’s school districts in rural Kansas is simply a political maneuver to scare small communities into accepting a greatly reduced school finance formula – and feel thankful that they at least can keep the doors open for their local schools.
“This is not the way government is supposed to work, and the fact that it’s always been done doesn’t make it right. Government is the mechanism through which the will of the people becomes reality, and it should be approached as such. Playing games with the government of the people for political gain during an election is a betrayal of the power granted to elected officials by the voters of Kansas.”