a divided Kansas Supreme Court struck down the state's death penalty.

a divided Kansas Supreme Court struck down the state's death penalty. The 4-3 decision vacates all 6 death penalty convictions in the Kansas judicial system.
The court ruled unconstitutional the part of the death penalty that instructs a jury on weighing aggravating factors of the crime against the background of the defendant, which may have affected that person's judgment. Essentially, the law says that if a jury decides the aggravating factors and mitigating factors are the same in weight, the defendent gets the death penalty.
It's referred to as "a tie goes to the state." A majority said that was unconstitutional and needs to be fixed by the Legislature. The majority included Justices Donald Allegrucci, Marla Luckert, Robert Gernon and Carol Beier. In dissent were Chief Justice Kay McFarland, Robert Davis and Lawton Nuss.
The case involved Michael L. Marsh II, who was sentenced to die for the June 1996 death of Marry Ane Pusch, 21.
Pusch had been shot and stabbed and her 19-month old daughter left to die in a fire. In addition to addressing the death penalty issue, the justices unanimously ordered a new trial for Marsh on the capital murder conviction in the girl's death and aggravated arson charge, saying the trial judge prejudiced the defense by not admitting evidence that Pusch's husband may have been involved in the slayings.
Marsh remains convicted of aggravated burglary and premeditated 1st-degree murder in Pusch's death. The court affirmed his sentence on those charges of 42 years in prison without the option of parole.