In a ruling the Kansas Supreme Court rejected a Kansas...

In a ruling the Kansas Supreme Court rejected a Kansas requirement that defendants be sentenced to death if the aggravating factors associated with the crime presented by prosecutors are equal to the mitigating circumstances presented by the defence. The State Supreme Court said the provision violated the "federal constitutional provisions against cruel and unusual punishment and the guarantee of due process." And "fundamental fairness" requires that a tie go to a defendant when it is a matter of life or death, the court said. The decision came in the case of Gary Kleypas, the 1st person sentenced to die in Kansas since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1994. Mr. Kleypas was convicted in 1997 of fatally stabbing Carrie Williams, a 20-year-old girl, in 1996. The court vacated Mr. Kleypas's death sentence and ordered a resentencing. The same must be done with the other 3 men on death row in Kansas.