Schmidt Wants Legislators To Discuss “Hard 50” Sentence

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is preparing to discuss his push for a special session of the Legislature to revise the state’s "Hard 50" sentencing law.

Schmidt scheduled a news conference Thursday, one day after he wrote to Gov. Sam Brownback asking him to call lawmakers back to Topeka.

The Kansas law allows judges to sentence people convicted of first-degree murder to a minimum of 50 years in prison before they can seek parole.

Schmidt said in his letter that a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision raised questions about the constitutionality of the Kansas law. The high court held that juries, not judges, should have the final say on facts triggering mandatory minimum sentences.

Lawmakers are out of session and aren’t scheduled to reconvene until January.