The Osage County man sitting on death row for the murders of several family members over a decade ago has filed a civil lawsuit to possibly shorten or overturn his sentence.
The defense attorney for James Kraig Kahler, Julia Spainhour, has listed 14 grounds for the lawsuit, alleging violations of Kahler’s right to be free from cruel or unusual punishment; violations leading to an inability to provide effective counsel; jury selection and misconduct issues; conflicts of interest among Kahler’s initial defense team; prosecutor error; and what Spainhour says is the arbitrary use of the death penalty, which she says violates both the US and Kansas constitutions.
Kahler was convicted of killing his wife, two daughters and wife’s grandmother in November 2009. An Osage County jury convicted Kahler of capital murder in August 2011. He was then sentenced to death two months later. After several direct appeals, the US Supreme Court affirmed the Kansas Supreme Court decision on use of the death penalty in 2020. The state Supreme Court then told Osage County District Court to move forward with executing the court’s judgment. A filing this past May set in motion a one-year clock for the latest appeal.
Hearing dates are currently pending.
