A Sedgwick County judge ruled on Thursday that a challenge to jury selection and death qualification in capital murder cases is valid. The challenge was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas.
A hearing was held this week to challenge the death penalty in Kansas, and the ACLU argued that potential jurors are excluded because they oppose the death penalty. The organization said this often leads to the exclusion of Black jurors and female jurors.
District Judge Jeffrey Goering said he will review that part of the challenge and issue an opinion. His decision is expected to be issued before jury selection begins in the trial of 33-year-old Kyle Young this summer.
The ACLU filed its challenge in reference to Young’s case. He is charged with capital murder in the January, 2020 shooting deaths of 27-year-old George Kirksey and 22-year-old Alicia Roman, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The shootings took place at the Hotel at Waterwalk in downtown Wichita, and court documents said Young was upset that Roman, his former girlfriend, was in a new relationship.
