Supreme Court Puts Man Back on Death Row
About a year ago in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, George Russell Kayer was taken off of death row where he had been sent for killing his friend over a gambling debt. He had argued that he did not receive effective counsel, in violation of his 6th Amendment rights. The court ruled in a 2-1 decision that Kayer did not have effective counsel and that he struggled with his mental health and addiction, which clouded his ability to know right from wrong. They said that these factors were not considered when making the original decision to put him on death row. However, now the Supreme Court has overturned the circuit court’s ruling and put him back on death row.
According to their decision, “Kayer asserts that his death sentence was imposed in violation of his Sixth Amendment right to effective assistance of counsel.” They later go on to say, “Kayer offered evidence that he suffered from bipolar disorder and untreated drinking and gambling addictions at the time of the crime. But reasonable jurists could debate the extent to which these factors significantly impaired his ability to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the law at the time of the murder.” Chief Justice Roberts, as well as Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, were in the majority. Justices Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan were in the minority. The decision was a per curium decision, which means that no one justice is credited with writing the decision. The dissenting justices did not write an opinion.
In December 1994, Kayer, his girlfriend Lisa Kester, and friend Delbert Haas went from Arizona to Laughlin, Nevada to gamble. According to Kester, Haas had lent money to Kayer to gamble with. Kayer was a gambling addict and lost all the money. Kayer planned to rob Haas. In order to get away with it, Kayer thought that he would have to kill Haas since they knew each other. On the way home, Kayer got a gun when they stopped at a gas station for beer along I-40 in Kingman, Arizona. They later stopped in a wooded area in Yavapai County to use the restroom, and there Kayer shot Haas in the back of the head. Kayer left the scene and came back minutes later when he realized he forgot to get Haas’s housekeys. He shot Haas again to make sure he was dead. Kayer went to Haas’s house to steal his guns and other belongings. Kayer told Kester to use a police scanner to check for police activity. Ten days later, Kester informed the police of the murder, and Kayer was arrested. He was found guilty of “both premeditated and felony murder, trafficking of stolen property, and theft of a firearm” according to Casino.org. According to AZCentral.com, Kester was also convicted for “facilitating a first-degree murder, facilitating burglary and facilitating trafficking stolen property.” Kester was released from prison in 2001 after serving more than a decade behind bars. It is uncertain how much money Haas had lent Kayer for gambling.
Arizona’s Attorney General Mark Brnovich praised the Supreme Court’s decision, saying, "We have a solemn obligation to uphold our laws and be a voice for those who can no longer speak for themselves. We must always ensure that justice is served for the victims, their families, and our communities.”
