Wichita Massacre PingPosted on 11/19/2002 6:55:00 AM PST by KS Flyover
State corrections officials figure eight to 12 years could pass before Reginald and Jonathan Carr receive lethal injections for a quadruple murder.In the meantime, the two brothers from Dodge City will live solitary, stark years in the maximum-security unit of El Dorado Correctional Facility.
Last week, a Wichita jury sentenced them to die. To many people, their crimes were so cruel and unspeakable, any accommodation for them is too nice.
Larry Heyka, father of Brad Heyka, one of four friends found shot to death in a snowy soccer field, would not comment on the prison conditions the Carrs will face.
But he said that the time they would spend in prison before execution would be "far too long and far too expensive."
The prison conditions the Carrs will remain in have been shaped over the years by litigation and standards adopted by prisons, said Bill Miskell, spokesman for the Kansas Department of Corrections.
Each of the Carrs will spend 23 hours a day, five days a week, in a solitary 8-foot-by-10-foot cell. Each cell has concrete floors and walls, a metal combination toilet and sink, a bed mounted to a wall, a writing table and narrow windows with hardened glass -- impossible to squeeze through.
Since El Dorado's maximum security unit opened in 1991, no one has escaped, Miskell said.
Two days a week, the Carrs will not leave their cells at all.
Each will get three meals a day, passed through a slot in a solid metal door with a small window. Some inmates gain weight, some lose pounds, but all are required to receive a certain number of calories per day, Miskell said.
Through the meal slot, each will be able to talk to inmates nearby, but the prison does not condone such conversations, Miskell said.
They will get to exercise alone in an enclosed area outside, topped by a barrier. They can shoot baskets, walk around, stretch. They will not be able to lift weights.
Each can shower three times a week.
They must follow every prison rule for 120 days to earn the privilege of having a radio and a television. The television screen can be no larger than 13 inches. The channels are limited to local, network-affiliated stations, religious programming and some cable stations, such as Discovery.
While watching television, they must wear headphones to limit noise.
Reginald Carr, who often sketches, will be able to have a drawing pencil.
Inmates can have magazines and newspapers, but the Carrs' reading material will be limited. Neither will be able to get Playboy magazine, for example, because they have been convicted of sex crimes, Miskell said.
They will have to show good behavior before they can receive visits by relatives. They would have to speak to their relatives by video, between separate buildings.
Any time they leave their cells, two officers will escort them. They will wear handcuffs, at a minimum, and perhaps leg shackles. Each will wear a prison-issue tan shirt and tan pants.
The El Dorado prison is the designated facility for men convicted of capital murder and facing the death penalty. The Carrs join four other convicts who have been sentenced to die: Stanley Elms, Michael Marsh, Gavin Scott and Gary Kleypas. Kleypas faces a new sentencing after the Kansas Supreme Court threw out his death sentence.
In Kansas, there is no such thing as "death row," where all condemned inmates are housed side-by-side in one area, Miskell said. Rather, those awaiting death sentences are placed within the Administrative Segregation Unit as cells become available, Miskell said. He could not say how close the Carrs' cells are to each other.
Someday, if their appeals fail, they will be moved to Lansing Correctional Facility.
There, in a starkly white room on the fourth floor of a century-old stone building, prison staff will strap and lock each man to a gurney and put IVs in his arm. Then, each will receive a deadly dose of chemicals.
Reach Tim Potter at 268-6684 or tpotter@wichitaeagle.com.
Judge confirms death penalty [Wichita Massacre] - With links to all prior "Wichita Massacre" threads - 11/16/02On the same thread:
Carr brothers silent during sentencing - Post #21 - 11/16/02
Families of victims speak of loved ones - Post #22 - 11/16/02
Jurors say deciding on Carr death penalty was difficult - Post #23 - 11/16/02
Carrs stole lives full of love, hope - Post #24 - 11/17/02
Mass is celebrated for victims, families - Post #25 - 11/17/02
Wichita Massacre PingYes.
It's past time that we reform our so-called justice system.
Let's just skip to this phase and forget the rest. They showed no mercy when they killed those people and they deserve none.
I find the "Someday" and "if" in this sentence very disturbing.
Better: "Then, one day, when their appeals run out, they will be led in shackles to the Lansing Correctional Facility."
They should play music to prevent it, then. I suggest a loop of the "Barney" theme song.
These pigs should be burned at the stake over a slow fire, and continually revived to be burnt again and again until there is nothing left.
And they should sell tickets.
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