Lawrence Journal-World 06-28-13

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Friday, June 28, 2013

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Deputy recognized for role in homicide probe By Ian Cummings icummings@ljworld.com

J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, R-ARIZ., left, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., right, two of the authors of the immigration reform bill crafted by the Senate’s bipartisan “Gang of Eight,� shake hands on Capitol Hill on Thursday prior to the final vote. The historic legislation would dramatically remake the U.S. immigration system

Senate passes historic bill overhauling immigration law By David Espo and Erica Werner Associated Press

WASHINGTON — With a solemnity reserved for momentous occasions, the Senate passed historic legislation Thursday offering the priceless hope of citizenship to millions of immigrants living illegally in America’s shadows. The bill also promises a military-style effort to secure the long-porous border with Mexico. The bipartisan vote was 68-32 on a measure that sits atop President Barack Obama’s second-term domestic agenda. Even so, the bill’s prospects are highly uncertain in the Republican-controlled House, where conservatives generally oppose citizenship for immigrants living in the country unlawfully. Spectators in galleries that overlook the Senate floor watched expectantly as senators voted one by one from their desks. Some onlookers erupted in chants of “Yes, we can� after Vice President Joe Biden announced the bill’s passage. After three weeks of debate, there was no doubt about the outcome. Fourteen Republicans joined all 52 Democrats and two independents to support the bill. Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran, both Kansas Republicans, voted

against the bill. Roberts said the border security provisions were a “toothless promise� and that the path to citizenship was unrealistic. “I believe my colleagues made a good faith effort to fix the serious immigration problem facing this nation, but I think they missed the mark in their attempt to negotiate a comprehensive package that promises too much and is not a realistic solution,� Roberts said. Moran said the bill fell short in many areas and that Congress should have tackled immigration problems “in manageable increments.� In a written statement, Obama coupled praise for the Senate’s action with a plea for resolve by supporters as the House works on the issue. “Now is the time when opponents will try their hardest to pull this bipartisan effort apart so they can stop commonsense reform from becoming a reality. We cannot let that happen,� said the president, who was traveling in Africa. In the Senate, the developments marked an end to years of gridlock on immigration. The shift began taking shape quickly after the 2012 presidential election, when numerous Republican leaders concluded the party must show a more welcoming face to Hispanic voters who had

given Obama more than 70 percent of their support. The legislation’s chief provisions includes numerous steps to prevent future illegal immigration — some added in a late compromise that swelled Republican support for the bill — and to check on the legal status of job applicants already living in the United States. At the same time, it offers a 13year path to citizenship to as many as 11 million immigrants now living in the country unlawfully. Under the deal, the measure requires 20,000 new Border Patrol agents, the completion of 700 miles of fencing and deployment of an array of high-tech devices along the U.S.-Mexico border. Those living in the country illegally could gain legal status while the border security plan was being implemented, but would not be granted permanent resident green cards or citizenship. A plan requiring businesses to check on the legal status of prospective employees would be phased in over four years. Other provisions would expand the number of visas available for highly skilled workers relied upon by the technology industry. A separate program would be established for lower-skilled workers, and farm workers would be admitted under a temporary program.

Lawsuit challenges Kansas’ photo ID election requirement TOPEKA (AP) — Kansas’ law requiring voters to present a picture ID is being challenged in Shawnee County. Wichita attorney Jim Lawing filed the lawsuit for Overbrook residents Arthur Spry and Charles Hamner to contest the constitutionality of the voting mandate included in the state’s Secure and Kobach Fair Elections Act of 2011. The act was written by Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who is the only named defendant in the case. The Shawnee County clerk’s office said it received the case Thursday. Critics have denounced the legislation as an attempt to suppress voter turnout among poor, minority and elderly voters, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported. Kobach said Thursday he had not yet seen the lawsuit, but said he believes the law is sound. He said he doesn’t expect the lawsuit to progress very far because the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a similar challenge to an Indiana voter ID law in 2008. “The court has already rejected arguments that these plaintiffs are making that the burden of getting

your documents together in order to get a free ID ... somehow impedes your constitutional right to vote,� Kobach said. State law requires voters have a photo ID when voting in person and a driver’s license number when voting by mail. Kansas also requires proof of citizenship for those registering to vote for the first time. If one doesn’t have proof of identity and is unable to pay for such a document, he or she can apply for a free State Voter Identification Document. To be eligible for that, a person born in Kansas must apply to the Kansas Office of Vital Statistics for a certified copy of a birth certificate and obtain from the agency a “no certificate letter.� Kobach’s office then must be given a copy of this letter. Hamner and Spry, both retirees, were blocked last year from having their votes counted because they didn’t have a government-issued identity card with a photograph proving they were Kansas residents in good standing. They voted with provisional ballots in November 2012, but those weren’t counted because neither man provided sufficient proof of their identity. Lawing said both Hamner and Spry live in a retirement home and neither had access to birth records necessary to se-

cure a picture ID. He said they also don’t have driver’s licenses, computers or the resources to apply for a free state ID. “The right to vote is a fundamental right possessed by Kansas citizens, and the plaintiffs’ rights to vote were denied,� Lawing said in the lawsuit. “It is a pernicious attack on the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs and thousands of other Kansans who do not enjoy ready access to modern technology.� Lawing’s lawsuit asserted the system established by Kobach to obtain supplemental identification for voting was also “clumsy and deceptive.� “If it were not so damaging to Kansas’ right to vote, the deliberately over-engineered system described ... would be linked to Rube Goldberg, a famous cartoonist, and enjoy a position of honor in the annals of political humor,� the lawsuit said. Kobach also said the Kansas law worked “extremely smoothly� in the 2012 election cycle, and that of the 1.18 million voters who participated in the November 2012 election, 838 voters cast provisional ballots because they didn’t have photo IDs and 306 of those brought in their photo ID a week later. “It’s a myth that a large number of Kansans lack photo ID,� he said.

The Osage County sheriff’s deputy who found the remains of 18-month-old homicide victim LanaLeigh Bailey last month has been recognized with awards from the sheriffs of Osage and Franklin counties. Deputy Blake Reker was given a letter of commendation by Osage County Sheriff Laurie Dunn earlier this month, at the same time that Franklin County Sheriff Jeff Richards presented him with a Meritorious Service Award. Both sheriffs have said the deputy was working on his own initiative when he found the body in rural Osage County, even as dozens of officers from other agencies were involved in a coordinated search elsewhere. Reker was in his first few months of patrol work when he discovered the child’s body on May 11, days into an investigation of the killing of her mother and two men at a Franklin County farmstead. LanaLeigh had been missing for more than a week and was presumed dead. Kyle T. Flack, 27, has been charged in the killings of Lana-Leigh and the three adults. He is scheduled to appear in Franklin County District Court on July 8, and remains in Franklin County Jail in lieu of posting a $10 million bond. Flack, who served four years for attempted murder in a previous case, faces charges of capital murder, first-degree murder, rape, and criminal possession of a firearm. His attorney has not responded to requests for comment on the case. The Osage County Sheriff’s Office had four investigators working on the multi-agency task force investigating the quadruple homicide, Dunn said, but Reker was not one of them. “He took it upon himself to just look in every ditch and gully, just anywhere he could see,� Dunn sad. The bodies of Lana-

Leigh’s mother, Kaylie Kathleen Bailey, 21, Andrew Adam Stout, 30, and Steven Eugene White, 31, were found May 6 and 7 in and around a house at 3197 Georgia Road, about five miles west of Ottawa. More than 100 officers from several jurisdictions became involved in the investigation of the killings and the search for the missing child. On May 11, Lana-Leigh was still missing and was presumed dead. Working on a hunch, the new deputy started his search near the Franklin County line and worked his way west into Osage County. The area is about 20 miles west of where the other bodies were discovered, and it is between Ottawa and Emporia, where police earlier that week had located Flack and a car belonging to Lana-Leigh’s mother. About 6 p.m., the deputy found some suspicious items and called Dunn.

About four hours later, Lana-Leigh’s body was found. “It’s upsetting for everybody,� Dunn said. That was one reason why the sheriff’s office waited several weeks before publicly recognizing Reker. “It wasn’t the outcome anybody wanted, but you want to see closure for the family. It’s a two-sided emotional trip.� Reker has been with the sheriff’s office for about eight years, Dunn said, previously working as an emergency dispatcher and at the jail. He graduated from law enforcement training and started patrol in January. Dunn said she was glad her office could help their neighbors in Franklin County. “We understand what Franklin County is going through,� she said. Osage County was the scene of a triple-homicide and a quadruple murder in 2009.

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