Kobach strongly opposes clemency for Kansas death row inmates, urges Gov. Kelly to reject requests and uphold jury verdicts

WICHITA – (June 9, 2026) – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach today voiced strong opposition to clemency requests filed by nearly all of Kansas’s death row inmates. At a press conference today flanked by law enforcement, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett and victim family members, Kobach called on Governor Laura Kelly to reject the petitions and respect the jury verdicts that imposed the ultimate punishment for these heinous crimes.

“These clemency requests are an outrage to the victims of these killers and all Kansans. A jury sentenced them to death. I urge Gov. Kelly to reject clemency and deliver long-overdue justice for the families. As attorney general, I support the death penalty and oppose any effort to set aside the jurors’ decisions to impose this penalty,” Kobach said.

Between May 1 and May 30, eight of the nine individuals on Kansas’s death row initiated formal clemency proceedings. There is a limited window for the public to provide comment.

Kansas employs one of the highest standards in the nation for imposing a capital sentence. Every death row inmate seeking clemency was convicted and sentenced by a jury, upheld by a judge, and affirmed through multiple layers of appellate review. The state has not carried out an execution since 1965, underscoring the deliberate and painstaking nature of the process.

These cases represent some of the most brutal crimes in Kansas history, claiming the lives of students, law enforcement officers, mothers, fathers, teachers, and children including:

·       Carrie Williams, a 20-year-old Pittsburg State University student

·       Miki Martinez, a 19-year-old mother from Great Bend

·       Darren Wornkey, a 24-year-old father from Great Bend

·       Matt Samuels, a hero and the Sheriff of Greenwood County, Kansas

·       Jason Befort, originally from Pratt, a teacher and coach from Augusta

·       Brad Heyka, 27, originally from Dodge City, he worked at Koch Industries

·       Heather Muller, a preschool teacher at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School

·       Aaron Sander, a 29-year-old who was studying to become a priest

·       Ann Walenta, a gifted cellist and member of the Wichita Symphony Orchestra

·       Dorothy Wight, a mother and grandmother from Burlingame

·       Karen Kahler, a mother and homemaker from Burlingame

·       Emily Kahler, an 18-year-old freshman studying at St. Louis College of Pharmacy

·       Lauren Kahler, a 16-year-old who played tennis and bass guitar in a rock band

·       Jodi Sanderholm, a 19-year-old dancer from Arkansas City

·       Kaylie Bailey, a 21-year-old mother from Ottawa

·       Lana Bailey, an 18-month-old toddler beloved by her family

·       Andrew Stout, a 30-year-old who loved frisbee golf and Mario Brothers

·       Steven White, a 31-year-old

·       Suzette Trouten, a 27-year-old nursing student

·       Izabela Lewicka, a 20-year-old born in Poland, studying at Purdue University

·       Lisa Stasi, a 20-year-old mother originally from Alabama

·       Beverly Bonner, a 49-year-old prison librarian

·       Sheila Faith, a 45-year-old mother

·       Debbie Lynn Faith, a 15-year-old daughter

“Granting clemency to multiple death row inmates — particularly in the final weeks of a gubernatorial term and based on personal opposition to the death penalty — would substitute one person’s policy preference for the considered judgment of juries, judges, and appellate courts,” Kobach emphasized. “Kansas law enforcement asks Governor Kelly to honor the verdicts of the juries, the families of the victims who have waited decades for finality, and the men and women in law enforcement whose safety depends on the strong message this state sends about the consequences of the most serious crimes. As the maxim holds: mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent. The victims and their families deserve justice.”

Letters opposing clemency may be sent to the Prison Review Board at 714 SW Jackson, Ste. 300, Topeka, KS 66603, or emailed to KDOC_Victim_Notification@ks.gov (mailto:_Victim_Notification@ks.gov). Comments may also be directed to Governor Laura Kelly at the Kansas Statehouse, 300 SW 10th Ave., Ste. 241S, Topeka, KS 66612, or by phone at 785-296-3232 or 785-368-8500.

###