Kansas High Court affirms sentence legal for man convicted of 1995 murder

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The Kansas Supreme Court has affirmed the sentence of a man convicted of murder in 1995 is legal and has barred the matter from being heard again.

The Kansas Supreme Court says that in the case of Appeal No. 125,113: State of Kansas v. David Moncla, Moncla had been serving a hard-40 sentence for first-degree murder when his motion to correct an illegal sentence was denied by the Sedgwick Co. District Court.

Court records indicate that Moncla argued the sentence as the district court’s irregular procedures negated its ability to impose restitution payments to the victim’s sister-in-law.

In a unanimous decision written by Justice K.J. Wall, the Court said it found it had already considered and rejected the claim in an earlier appeal. As no development in the law had an impact on the previous decision, it held that Moncla’s claim was barred from being raised again.

Moncla continues to serve his sentence following his 1995 conviction for the murder of Diane Swinney who had been hit in the head with a hammer 18 times.

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