The Kansas Supreme Court judge retentions are coming up in the November elections and the political importance of this year’s retentions is higher than it has been previously.

Five of the seven justices are on the ballot this year for retention.

These justices played a crucial role in the Carr brothers’ trial, deciding to sentence them to life in prison.

Many people were outraged with the decision, saying that the court let them “off the hook.” Many of these people have joined Kansans for Justice, a group promoting the removal of these five justices.

Contrary to popular belief, the court did not let the Carr brothers off easy. Since they have been sentenced to life in prison, they will spend their entire life in prison – until they either die of old age or are put to death by the state.

The Kansas Supreme Court has also recently upheld the death sentence of John E. Robinson Sr., a serial killer from Olathe who stored his victims’ bodies in barrels.

This shows that the qualifications of a justice have nothing to do with their support of the death sentence.

If the justices on the ballot are removed from office, it would allow Governor Sam Brownback to replace them with whoever he feels would best promote his platform.

The tension surrounding the election is supported primarily by the current state funding toward K-12 public schools.

Brownback has been known to cut funding for Kansas schools drastically and this has caused many school districts to cut back spending. This, in turn, harms the schools’ ability to properly educate students with modern technology.

Furthermore, according to a study by the Kansas Judicial Evaluation Committee, Justice Caleb Stegall received the lowest ratings out of all the Kansas Supreme Court.

Stegall, the only justice appointed by Brownback, was the only justice who received a less than strong recommendation on the study.

Less than 74 percent of the over 11,000 participants felt that Stegall was a good recommendation for retention, and felt he should be removed from office.

Considering that the only justice chosen by Brownback has been given poor ratings, if the five justices on the ballot are removed, there will be five more justices hand-picked by Brownback to represent the people of Kansas.

That will be five more justices working to support Brownback’s platform and enact his policies.

Presenting the opportunity for Brownback to replace the current justices will stack the judicial cards in his favor, allowing him to easily continue enacting his policies and defunding essential government departments.

Additionally, the five current justices on the ballot have received strong ratings on the survey and were highly recommended for retention.

No justice has ever been ousted in Kansas under the current retention system.