Topic: Crime Victims

Interview of Bob Stephan, October 21, 2020

Interviewed by Michael (Mike) Matson

Former Attorney General Robert T. Stephan, in this 2020 oral history interview, recalls the highlights of his years serving the State of Kansas as Attorney General (1979 to 1995). Stephan's career as a champion of children as well as victims of crime and discrimination was shaped by his upbringing in Wichita and his strong sense of what it right. Stephan laments the increasingly partisan atmosphere of the National Association of Attorneys General, an organization to which he belonged during his time in state service.

Interview of Ronald Wurtz, April 18, 2023

Interviewed by Nancy Parrish

As he tells it in this oral history interview, Ron Wurtz always wanted to be a lawyer. He chose Washburn University because they had a law school and a ROTC program. He interned with Shawnee County District Attorney Gene Olander as a law student, and after four years as an Air Force Judge Advocate, he returned to work as an Assistant District Attorney in Topeka before becoming a state public defender in 1979. Wurtz's interview covers -- the death penalty, to which he has always opposed, and sentencing guidelines, which he originally supported and later opposed. He discusses Show Moreseveral of the cases he worked on. More recently, he has worked on the Expungement Project and at the time of this interview, taught at the Washburn University Law Clinic. Occasionally he has also served as a judge pro tem. Show Less

Interview of Frank Henderson, May 21, 2025

Interviewed by Mark Tallman

In this 2025 oral history interview, Frank Henderson recounts his journey from a small western Kansas farming community to becoming a prominent leader in public education. He reflects on his service on the local school board, where he helped modernize student opportunities and navigated a contentious community debate regarding the district's namesake. Henderson also discussed his leadership role at the state level with the Kansas Association of School Boards and the national level with the National School Board Association, where he advocated for marginalized students and adequate educational funding. Drawing from his background in social services and the criminal justice Show Moresystem, he emphasized the critical connection between overcoming the opportunity gap and ensuring that every child can succeed. At the time of this interview he was continuing his lifelong passion for education by guiding districts in selecting superintendents who match their community needs. Show Less

Interview of Carla Stovall Steckline, April 28, 2026

Interviewed by Dale Goter

This 2026 interview of former Kansas Attorney General Carla Stovall Steckline highlights the importance of her two terms in office as the first and only woman elected to the office of Attorney General in Kansas. She started her career as the county attorney in Crawford County, Kansas. Her predecessor in that office told her "Crawford County juries are not ready for women in the courtroom yet." So, she ran against him and defeated him. What she found was "so much child sexual abuse there that I would never have imagined existed." Governor Hayden appointed her Show Moreto the state Parole Board and she became more visible in Republican politics while learning about the problems with sexually violent predators. Former Attorney General Bob Stephan noticed her and she had lots of interaction with his office. When Stephan announced his retirement, he backed Stovall as his successor. During the campaign a young college student at Pittsburg State University (located in Crawford County) was murdered violently and that case became a campaign issue. Stovall proposed the Sexuallly Violent Predator Law that became the biggest issue in her campaign. After the election, several other heinous crimes occurred which propelled the proposed law. Stovall defended the law before the U.S. Supreme Court.

During her second term as AG she pursued litigation against the tobacco companies. She won $1.6 billion dollars from the tobacco companies. The legislature allocated that money to children's programs and established the Children's Cabinet to administer the fund.

At the end of her second term, she was persuaded to run for Governor, but withdrew from the race because her heart wasn't in it. She had met and married Larry Steckline and left the political world behind. Turning to the non-profit sector, she started a charity to help victims of domestic violence and sexual assault which she was operating at the time of this interview.

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