Judge confirms death penalty for Wichita brothers; five friends had been led to a field and shot

<br>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ A judge on Friday approved a jury's recommendation that two brothers should be put to death for a shooting that left four friends dead and a fifth seriously wounded nearly

Friday, November 15th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ A judge on Friday approved a jury's recommendation that two brothers should be put to death for a shooting that left four friends dead and a fifth seriously wounded nearly two years ago.

Reginald Carr, 25, and his brother Jonathan, 22, showed no visible emotion when the judge pronounced the decision Friday.

The sole survivor of the Dec. 15, 2000, shootings told the court, ``The sentence imposed on them will be a much kinder sentence than they imposed on me, my friends and family.''

Sedgwick County District Judge Paul Clark also sentenced both brothers to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 20 years in the death of another woman who was shot that same month.

The Carrs had been convicted last week of capital murder in the deaths of the three men and a woman who were shot and killed execution-style as they knelt in a snow-covered soccer field. The survivor, wounded in the head, ran naked through the snow to seek help and was among key witnesses at the trial.

The victims, all friends, had been forced to engage in sex with each other, and the two women were raped repeatedly before the five were taken to the field.

After the jury delivered its recommendation for the death penalty Thursday, Mark Befort, a brother of one of the victims, sarcastically wished Reginald Carr a ``happy birthday'' followed by an expletive as he was being led away. Reginald Carr turned 25 Thursday; his brother is 22.

Defense lawyers had pleaded for mercy for their clients, citing the brothers' difficult childhood. The Carrs had been convicted of capital murder last week.

Many family members of the victims held hands with each other as the verdicts were read Thursday. Outside the courthouse, they tearfully hugged District Attorney Nola Foulston, but declined to comment.

Relatives of the Carrs also held hands and blinked back tears. As the brothers were led away, the women shouted: ``I love you.''

Kansas has not had any executions since it reinstated the death penalty in 1994.