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TOPEKA – Today, Governor Laura Kelly issued the following statement announcing the denial of John Robinson’s clemency request for commutation of the death sentence: 

“Kansas reinstated the death penalty in 1994, and it remains the law today. The State Constitution vests the governor with the ability to commute sentences following a statutorily mandated process.  

“As the existence of a credible claim of innocence or evidence of manifest injustice are absent in his request, I have denied John Robinson’s request to commute his death sentence.” 

The process by which individuals who have received a death penalty sentence may make clemency requests for commutations of death sentences is the following:  

Individuals who have received a death penalty sentence may request a commutation of that sentence by submitting an application to the Prisoner Review Board (PRB). The PRB must provide a 30-day notice to victims, the prosecuting attorney, and the judge of the court in which the defendant was convicted. After the 30-day notice has elapsed, the PRB must submit a report on the application to the governor within 120 days. The governor cannot take action on a request for clemency before receiving the report from the PRB, unless, if after 120 days, the PRB has not yet submitted a report. Additional information about the clemency process can be found here and here. 

As of June 18, 2026, the Office of the Governor has received clemency applications from the following individuals sentenced to death: John Robinson (denied). 

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