The Kansas Supreme Court today affirmed Dickinson County District Court's denial of Virgil S. Bradford's motion to correct an illegal sentence.
In 1999, a Dickinson County jury convicted Bradford of capital murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, and two counts of felony theft. Many years after his sentences for these crimes became final, Bradford argued his aggravated robbery sentence was illegal. Bradford based his argument on a 2018 change in the law, according to a news release from the Kansas Supreme Court.
In a decision published today, the supreme court rejected Bradford's argument. The court held if a criminal defendant moves to correct an illegal sentence, courts judge the sentence's legality as of the time the sentencing judge pronounced the sentence. Later changes in the law do not render a legal sentence illegal. The court also held Bradford could not raise constitutional challenges to his sentence through a motion to correct an illegal sentence, according to the information from the supreme court.