Kansas
Justice demands freedom for Kansas woman who killed her rapist, but governor has to make the call • Kansas Reflector
There’s no question that Sarah Gonzales-McLinn killed Laurence businessman Hal Sasko. She was found guilty by a jury of her peers, and she’s serving a minimum 25-year prison sentence.
Yet someone can both be guilty of a heinous crime and also see it as their only way to escape a dire situation. Gonzales-McLinn, in advocates’ estimation, was the victim of sex trafficking by Sasko. She suffered repeated rape and abuse for his sexual gratification. Those advocates want Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly to understand both truths and to grant Gonzales-McLinn clemency. More than a year into their efforts, they now want the public to contact Kelly’s office.
Former reporter Dave Ranney has appeared at recent public presentations, and he spoke to me for this week’s episode of the Kansas Reflector podcast.
He said Gonzales-McLinn’s account of the situation, in which she began living with Sasko at age 17, remains consistent.
“Sarah’s story has never changed. I mean, from day one,” he said. “Sara has been evaluated by two forensic psychologists, both of whom reach the same conclusion that she’s no longer a risk to society. And her story doesn’t change with either one of them. And these are professionals who are very accustomed to detecting whether someone is telling you the truth or making stuff up.”
When I wrote about Gonzales-McLinn in January 2023, I put it this way: She was failed on every level by the people in her life.
She was failed by people around her as a child and teen. She was failed by Sasko, who presented himself at first as a kindly parental figure before unfurling a devious scheme to bind her economically and psychologically. She was failed by those who knew about the situation but chose not to act. She was failed by the legal system that didn’t allow jurors to hear of her shocking abuse. And she has been thus far failed by a political system that should have redressed her situation long before now.
That fundamental take has not changed in the 16 months since.
Neither has Gonzales-McLinn’s address.
Michelle McCormick, executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, told me that advocates see similar situations all too often.
“The tactics that he used fit into all the categories that we train, when I provide professional training to law enforcement and prosecutors and advocates and health care providers and any person who will ever listen,” she said. “You know, we talk about the tactics that are used in sexual violence, domestic violence, in the emotional control tactics. The way somebody is identified as vulnerable. How someone will groom them, isolate them from supports, using emotional belittling tactics to try to chip away their self worth like that. The experiences that Sarah describes, in her own words, match the experiences of hundreds and hundreds of Kansans that I’ve worked with in the 25 years I have been an advocate.”
If we have failed Gonzales-McLinn, as I believe we have, think about all the other victims we have likewise failed along the way. Think of all the stories that we didn’t hear or believe. And think of the suffering that resulted.
“What bothers me the most, I think, is that none of this information was considered in any of the criminal processes,” McCormick said. “It wasn’t even considered in the early media coverage.”
If we don’t listen to or believe victims of sexual assault, we help perpetuate it.
That goes for lawyers, judges and journalists.
Unfortunately, writing or talking about injustice often invites comparisons. What about other cases in which our justice system imprisoned people for crimes they did not commit? What about poverty or climate change or wars halfway around the globe? What about all of those people and their lives? Shouldn’t they come first in line? For that matter, what about law-abiding Americans struggling to make ends meet?
I have one answer: Care about this case because it can be addressed right now.
Care about this case because Gonzales-McLinn suffered a gross miscarriage of justice.
Care about this case because we cannot close our hearts to all the women and children who suffer at the hands of abusers.
Unfortunately, Kelly must wrangle the dark art of politics. With primary and general elections coming up this year, Gonzales-McLinn’s freedom could well cost Democrats and moderate Republicans seats in the Legislature. I can imagine the mailers from big money groups now. No one takes office with the intention of costing their party or allies, and Kelly has two more years left in office.
I know what I think. But I’m not the one who holds the cards.
The final words today come from Gonzales-McLinn herself. She wrote a short note explaining what she hopes to do and accomplish if granted clemency. For those curious about her ambitions in the years ahead, please take a look. That goes for you too, governor.
“In a lot of ways, I just want to be normal,” she writes. “I want to hit the milestones that a lot of people my age do. Work, spend time with my family, finish college, hang out with friends, buy a home, go on vacations, just live my life.
“I also know that I have a strong desire to share my story. With the hope that it can help someone who is struggling to make it through something similar. I want people to know that there is life and healing after trauma. Even though it feels like things will never get better I want them to know it does. And your life doesn’t have to be defined by it. I want them to know that there is a future and hope.”
Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — No. 16 Colorado heads to Arrowhead Stadium to face Kansas on Saturday knowing full well where it stands in the Big 12 picture.
Beat the Jayhawks and conference bottom-dweller Oklahoma State and the Buffaloes will be playing for the title. Lose to Kansas and everything changes: They would need Arizona State and Iowa State to lose at least one more game, or BYU to lose its last two, and that would take their College Football Playoff aspirations out of their own hands.
Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders doesn’t sound as if there is any extra pressure on this weekend.
“Look at me, man. Do I look like I subscribe to pressure or do I look like I apply it?” Sanders asked. “We apply pressure.”
In the new-look and jumbled Big 12, the Buffaloes (8-2, 6-1) are tied in the standings with the Cougars, but they are just a game ahead of Arizona State and Iowa State — and curiously enough, did not play any of the three. And while the Jayhawks (4-6, 3-4) are well off the pace, by virtue of a dizzying stretch of last-second losses, they might be playing the best of anyone.
Kansas knocked off then-No. 17 Iowa State before dealing then-No. 6 BYU its first loss on the road last weekend. The back-to-back wins over ranked teams are a first in school history, and the Jayhawks would love to make it three straight on Saturday.
“They have not given up, regardless of what their record may state,” Sanders said. “The last two weeks, they’ve knocked some people off their feet. It’s going to be a tremendous task for us. (Lance Leipold) is going to have those guys ready to play. We’re going to be in an environment that’s not conducive to us being successful in Kansas City.”
Colorado wide receiver Drelon Miller scores a touchdown after catching a pass against Utah in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. Credit: AP/David Zalubowski
Arrowhead Stadium
Kansas, which is playing its home finale Saturday, has been playing Big 12 games at Arrowhead Stadium while their on-campus stadium is renovated. Sanders played there once with the Falcons, returning kickoffs in a 14-3 loss on Sept. 1, 1991. He also played at neighboring Kauffman Stadium, home of the Royals, going 3 for 13 in three games with the Yankees in 1990.
“I’m not as young as I once were,” Sanders said, “but I look forward to going there.”
Senior day
Kansas will be sending off 30 seniors in its home finale Saturday, many of whom were instrumental in taking the program from a winless laughingstock in 2020 to bowl games each of the past two seasons. Leipold is wary about focusing too much on the emotional sendoff when there is still a game to be played, and two wins needed to reach a third straight bowl game.
“It becomes an emotional drain, especially right before kickoff sometimes, so hopefully that’ll be a small positive of not being in Lawrence,” Leipold said. “I don’t want to take anything away from the guys, but if we can balance those things with what the day is, hopefully we can make a special day.”
Colorado wide receiver Travis Hunter, front, jokes with teammates as he waits with quarterback Shedeur Sanders to do a television interview after an NCAA college football game against Utah Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. Credit: AP/David Zalubowski
Award watch
Sanders interrupted a question this week after being reminded of how he said earlier this season that his son and quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, and two-way Heisman hopeful Travis Hunter would be top picks in the upcoming NFL draft.
“A lot of people didn’t believe me, huh? Remember I said Travis and Shedeur have the opportunity (at) one and two?” he said. “Everybody just pulled out a double-barrel shotgun and shot at me when I said that, right? Now it’s all coming to light.”
Sanders has thrown 27 touchdown passes, one away from Sefo Liufau’s school record. Hunter is coming off a game in which the cornerback and wide receiver played 132 snaps — he has 74 catches for 911 yards and nine TDs, along with three picks.
Fast friends
Sanders and Leipold might at first seem like the most unlikely of buddies, given one was a Hall of Fame player and two-sport star while the other fought his way through the coaching ranks, beginning at Division III school Wisconsin-Whitewater. Yet when the Buffaloes joined the Big 12, Leipold reached out to Sanders and they became fast friends.
“I love him to life. He’s a friend,” Sanders said. “For these guys to, on their own account, reach out to me, to show me love and respect is tremendous.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Kansas City’s skyline is getting bigger. Starting next year, construction of a new high-rise apartment building will begin on the north side of downtown.
The 25-story, 385-foot-tall tower will be built at 800 Grand Avenue, where a parking garage currently sits. The developer, BR Companies, is excited to break ground in the KC market.
“You have to have the right environment for investment,” said Ryan Sullivan, BR Companies’ Chief Development Officer. “If you think about Kansas City and you’re playing bingo, you yell out ‘Bingo!’ pretty quickly.”
The tower is expected to have more than 300 units, as well as 24,000 square feet of retail space and parking. Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2025.
“The city has a vision to make Grand ‘grand,’” Sullivan said. “It’s a civil project they’ve been envisioning for a while now.”
READ MORE: Jackson County leaders struggle to agree on issuing $70M in COVID funds as deadline nears
BR Companies is based out of Los Angeles. They say friendly local government, a strong local sports scene, and CPKC Stadium made Kansas City a market they wanted to build in. City Manager Brian Platt helped BR Companies make the announcement at the annual “State of Downtown” address Wednesday, Nov. 20.
“We’re welcoming everybody here to Kansas City,” Platt said. “It’s the coolest city in the country by far. We’re on the map in a lot of ways for a lot of different reasons. That energy, that vibe, is bringing people here. They want to move here, they want to live here, they want to be part of the action.”
This week, Kansas City is in the national sports limelight with CPKC Stadium hosting the NWSL Championship.
“It’s a massive, massive help and asset,” said Sullivan. “From our perspective, more is more. The more people that are participating in the market cement the reasons why people want to live here, work here, and spend time here.”
“The stadium is a national example of how downtown urban sports arenas, and other types of arenas, can drive new development,” said Platt. “The success of the stadium is leading to I think $1 billion of new development that’s coming afterwards, which is unprecedented in Kansas City.”
BR Companies said it is still the “schematic design phase” of the new apartment building, but the company expects to break ground in the third quarter of 2025.
Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Nineteen greater Kansas City-area Minit Marts have been sold to a new company, Block & Company, Inc. Realtors announced Wednesday.
The Minit Marts were acquired by Tarko, Missouri-based Tarkio Real Estate LLC.
As part of the sale, the properties will transition from Minit Marts into independent liquor and corner stores depending on the location.
All gas pumps will be rebranded to Phillips 66.
A map of the locations is below.
Block & Company, Inc. Realtors
In June 2023, Casey’s General Store announced it had purchased 26 Minit Mart locations in the Kansas City area.
The moves come as the Buc-ee’s, a massive convenience store, is moving forward with plans for a facility at 110th Street and Interstate 70 in Kansas City, Kansas.
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