Why new Kansas law may affect clemency decisions for death row inmates

Amid public outcry about death row inmates applying for clemency, the government board that handles the process is being overhauled by a new state law with provisions taking effect July 1.

Under the Kansas Constitution and state law, the governor has executive clemency power, which allows Gov. Laura Kelly to commute a sentence.

Clemency applications are first submitted to the Prisoner Review Board, which reviews the case in accordance with state laws before ultimately submitting a recommendation to the governor, who makes the final decision.

Several convicted murderers facing execution have recently filed clemency applications, which got significant public attention because of the case of Jonathan and Reginald Carr. High-profile Republican politicians, including Attorney General Kris Kobach and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, have publicly called for the Democratic governor to deny clemency to the Carr brothers.

The governor cannot act until after a request is received by the governor's office, which means she must wait on the Prisoner Review Board process, which is required to follow timelines under the law. So far, only one of the applications has reached her desk, and Kelly denied it while noting John Robinson lacked "a credible claim of innocence or evidence of manifest injustice."

With the other clemency applications still pending, a new state law, Senate Bill 459, could affect the process.

That's because the current Prisoner Review Board will be abolished on July 1, and a new one will be created.

The current three-person board is under the Kansas Department of Corrections. The new five-person board will be independent, with three members appointed by the governor and two appointed by the attorney general.

The law requires Kelly and Kobach to appoint interim members before July 1, who will serve while awaiting Senate confirmation. Having interim members is intended to prevent any delays in processing cases, like the clemency applications being reviewed.

A Senate Confirmation Oversight Committee meeting is scheduled for June 30. A tentative agenda as of June 26 showed two of the appointments for the Prisoner Review Board are set to be considered. They are Greg Smith and Vic Braden.

The new law was pushed by the Kansas State Troopers Association and other law enforcement groups in response to the board's decision to grant parole to a cop killer, though it later rescinded that decision amid public backlash.

Jimmie Nelms was convicted of murder in the killing of trooper Conroy O'Brien in 1978. The crime happened during a period when Kansas did not have a death penalty, and Nelms was sentenced to life in prison, but he has long been eligible for parole.

Among the concerns raised with the original bill was that it did not provide for a smooth transition between the old board and new board. Kansas Department of Corrections secretary Jeff Zmuda advised lawmakers that "any period without an adequate number of board members could be catastrophic in terms of meeting statutory time frames" for the range of cases it handles.

"Without further clarification of a transition plan, the Prisoner Review Board's vast work would be frozen for an indeterminate period of time and could subject the state to liability for failing to meet statutory time frames regarding hearings and release dates," Zmuda testified.

Amendments addressed that and other issues, and the bill ultimately got broad bipartisan support and was signed into law by Kelly.

Source: cjonline.com, Jason Alatidd, June 30, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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