Death sentence upheld in 1996 killing of Kansas college student
The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday upheld the death sentence for a man convicted in the 1996 killing of a Pittsburg State University student.
Gary Kleypas, now 61, was the first person sentenced to death in Kansas since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1994.
He was convicted of sexually assaulting and stabbing 20-year-old Carrie Williams.
Kansas juries have twice sentenced Kleypas to death for Williams’ murder.
The Supreme Court vacated his sentence and ordered a new sentencing trial in 2001. But in 2008, a second jury once again imposed the death sentence.
Kleypas appealed, and the court on Friday ruled that the death sentence should stand.
The court did throw out his sentence for an attempted rape conviction and ordered a resentencing on a remaining charge of attempted burglary.
Tony Rizzo: 816-234-4435, @trizzkc
This story was originally published October 21, 2016 at 2:30 PM with the headline "Death sentence upheld in 1996 killing of Kansas college student."