Kansas court upholds death sentence in 1996 slaying
Law Firm News
Kansas' highest court on Friday upheld the death sentence of a man convicted of killing a college student 20 years ago.
The Kansas Supreme Court let stand Gary Kleypas' death sentence in the 1996 rape and stabbing death of 20-year-old Pittsburg State University student Carrie Williams. Kleypas, 61, was the first person condemned in Kansas after it reinstated the death penalty in 1994. Kansas hasn't executed anyone in more than 50 years, although 10 men are on the state's death row.
In its 166-page ruling, the Topeka-based high court did throw out Kleypas' conviction of attempted rape and ordered him resentenced for aggravated burglary.
"Considering the errors we have found singularly and cumulatively, we hold that Kleypas' sentence of death was not imposed under the influence of passion, prejudice, or any other arbitrary factor," Justice Marla Luckert wrote for the court's majority.
Justice Lee Johnson dissented, reiterating his view that the death penalty is unconstitutionally cruel or unusual punishment.
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Does a car or truck accident count as a work injury?
If an employee is injured in a car crash while on the job, they are eligible to receive workers’ compensation benefits. “On the job” injuries are not limited to accidents and injuries that happen inside the workplace, they may also include injuries suffered away from an employee’s place of work while performing a job-related task, such as making a delivery or traveling to a client meeting.
Regular commutes to and from work don’t usually count. If you get into an accident on your way in on a regular workday, it’s probably not considered a work injury for the purposes of workers’ compensation.
If you drive around as part of your job, an injury on the road or loading/unloading accident is likely a work injury. If you don’t typically drive around for work but are required to drive for the benefit of your employer, that would be a work injury in many cases.
If you are out of town for work, pretty much any driving would count as work related. For traveling employees, any accidents or injuries that happen on a work trip, even while not technically working, can be considered a work injury. The reason is because you wouldn’t be in that town in the first place, had you not been on a work trip.
Workers’ compensation claims for truck drivers, traveling employees and work-related injuries that occur away from the job site can be challenging and complex. At Krol, Bongiorno & Given, we understand that many families depend on the income of an injured worker, and we are proud of our record protecting the injured and disabled. We have handled well over 30,000 claims for injured workers throughout the state of Illinois.