Kansas Reflector Podcast

After 44 years at the state Capitol, 2020 will be the last for Sen. Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat. The longest-tenured legislator, who took office in 1977, has worked with 10 different governors and around 150 different state senators. On the Kansas Reflector podcast, senior reporter Tim Carpenter sits down with Hensely to reflect on his career — highlights, lowlights and everything in between.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, now in his third term, makes his presence felt. He'll be relied upon during the upcoming legislative session, but beyond that, he has weighed in on several notable legal issues, like the election and Kansas proof of citizenship laws. On this edition of the Kansas Reflector podcast, senior reporter Tim Carpenter sits down with Schmidt to discuss criminal justice reform, a Texas-born election lawsuit contesting the 2020 general election and a possible run for governor.

After nearly 40 years as a congressman, U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts announced early last year he would not pursue reelection in 2020. Capping off the longest tenure of any Kansan in the nation’s capital Sen. Pat Roberts delivered a final speech on the Senate floor Thursday. In what he dubbed his “adios amigos” speech, Roberts reflected on his path to politics, time spent as chair of the agriculture committee in both the House and Senate and the value of bipartisan efforts in passing meaningful legislation.

Kansas law allows capital punishment, but no one has been put to death in the state since 1965. At El Dorado Correctional Facility, 10 men are currently on death row, set to die by lethal injection. The majority are white and all are convicted killers. On this Kansas Reflector podcast, Cheryl Pilate, a criminal defense lawyer, Beatrice Swoopes, a retired public policy lobbyist for Catholic causes, and Mark Mark McCormick, director of strategic communications with the ACLU of Kansas, share strong feelings in opposition to capital punishment.

According to a report from the US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, nearly 8% of inmates serving time in state and federal prisons and local jails are veterans. Despite making up a sizeable portion of the criminal justice system, diversion options specific to veterans are few and far between. In 2008, Judge Robert Russell, the presiding judge of the Buffalo Drug and Mental health Courts, established the nation’s first Veterans Treatment Court intended to provide structure and rehabilitation for military men and women. In 2016, Johnson County followed suit and established the first and only Veteran’s Treatment Court in Kansas. Now, with eyes on criminal justice reform across the country, several legal leaders in Kansas are encouraging more of these treatment courts be adopted across the state.