Lawrence Journal-World 05-02-2015

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Wow them with containers. GARDEN VARIETY, 10A

USA TODAY Six officers charged in Baltimore police death. 1B

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SATURDAY • MAY 2 • 2015

Sexual assault task force pitches reforms By Sara Shepherd Twitter: @saramarieshep

Kansas University’s Sexual Assault Task Force on Friday suggested big changes to the way KU handles campus rape. Among them: create an on-campus center for sexual assault prevention and education, require all freshmen

Suggestions include all freshmen, even frat members, living in university housing — including fraternity members — to live in residence halls and clarify in the student code that KU can discipline students for sexual violence that occurred off-campus if the victim was also a student. The task force presented a

Death penalty decision is put on hold

total of 27 recommendations in its final report to KU Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little. Task force members heard from hundreds of people and did a large amount of research since convening last fall, said co-chairwoman Alesha Doan,

associate professor of political science and chairwoman of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Recommendations range from short- to long-term and are anchored by prevention, Doan said. The center is the

biggest priority because under its umbrella, other recommendations could be implemented, overseen and evaluated, she said. “Without a doubt it is the Please see REFORMS, page 2A

KANSAS UNIVERSITY

Lawrence rapist will remain at Larned, court rules

Planting for the future

By Peter Hancock Twitter: @LJWpqhancock

By Peter Hancock

Topeka — The Kansas Supreme Court announced Friday that it has delayed issuing a decision in the death penalty case of Scott D. Cheever while the U.S. Supreme Court considers appeals in three other Kansas cases that raise similar issues. Cheever was convicted and sentenced to death for the COURTS 2005 killing of Greenwood County Sheriff Matt Samuels. Attorneys for both the prosecution and defense in the Cheever case agreed to the stay, according to a statement from the court. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering appeals in three other death penalty cases from Kansas. In each case, the Kansas high court vacated death sentences due to procedural errors in the sentencing phase of the trials. Those cases involve Jonathan and Reginald Carr, who were convicted and sentenced for a brutal murder spree in December 2000 in which four people were shot execution-style in a frozen field near Wichita. The third case involves Sidney Gleason, who was convicted of killing two people near Great Bend in 2004 as part of an effort to prevent them from providing evidence about an earlier robbery.

Twitter: @LJWpqhancock

Mike Yoder/Journal-World Photo

SEVERAL KANSAS UNIVERSITY STUDENT VOLUNTEERS, personnel from KU facilities services, design and construction management and the Center for Sustainability planted 15 crabapple trees Friday along a stretch of Irving Hill Road on Daisy Hill.

Please see DEATH, page 2A

Topeka — A Lawrence man convicted in 1996 of attempted rape and aggravated burglary will stay confined indefinitely at the Larned State Hospital for treatment as a sexually violent predator. The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday upheld a Douglas County jury’s decision that Kodi Thomas should not be released from state custody, even though he has served his criminal sentence. The decision comes as the treatment program at Thomas Larned is coming under increasing criticism for its chronic staffing shortages, low success rate and its failure to adhere to recommended practices for such treatment programs. Thomas served 16 years in state prison for his 1996 conviction. According to court records, he had two earlier convictions for sex crimes: a 1981 conviction in Douglas County, when he was 12 or 13 years old, on two counts of indecent liberties with a child for participating in a gang rape of two girls; and a 1987 conviction in Johnson County for indecent solicitation of a child. Under Kansas law, however, the state can keep sexually violent predators in custody indefinitely under a civil commitment order, even after they complete their criminal sentence, if a jury finds they suffer from a mental abnormality or personality defect that makes them a continuing threat to public safety. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld that law as constitutional in 1997 in Kansas v. Hendricks, in a 5-4 decision. On appeal, Thomas argued that the evidence was insufficient to support a civil commitment; that prosecutors violated his Please see COURT, page 2A

U.S. attorney tells Kansas police to pursue body cameras By Caitlin Doornbos Twitter: @CaitlinDoornbos

U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom in a news release on Friday urged Kansas law enforcement agencies to apply for a new federal funding program designed to help outfit officers with body

New Department of Justice grant program would only cover startup costs cameras, but local law enforcement officials say there are many factors to consider before implementing the technology in Lawrence. The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday announced

Business Classified Comics Deaths

Low: 58

Today’s forecast, page 10A

The program also would provide $2 million for training and technical assistance and $1 million for the development of evaluation tools to study best practices. The pilot partnership is

INSIDE

Partly cloudy

High: 78

a new Body-Worn Camera Pilot Partnership program that will provide $17 million in competitive grants for law enforcement agencies to purchase body-mounted cameras, the release said.

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part of President Obama’s proposal to invest $75 million over three years to purchase 50,000 body-worn cameras for law enforcement Please see CAMERAS, page 2A

Bleak forecast Kansas and eight other Midwest states can expect more slow economic growth for 2015, according to a new report. Page 3A

Vol.157/No.122 26 pages


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