On a 38-2 vote, the Kansas Senate passed legislation...

On a 38-2 vote, the Kansas Senate passed legislation allowing juries to impose life in prison in capital murder cases instead of the death penalty. The measure, recommended by the Kansas Judicial Council, goes to the House for consideration. Juries currently have the option of imposing the death penalty or the "Hard 50," which requires a convicted murderer to spend the next 50 years in prison without chance of parole. The new legislation makes it clear that the convicted person would serve the remainder of his or her life behind bars without the possibility of parole should a jury decide the death penalty was not appropriate.