The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the case of John Robinson leaving his capital murder conviction and death sentence intact.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says the high court’s denial means Robinson’s conviction and death sentence, which previously were affirmed by the Kansas Supreme Court, will stand on direct appeal.

The case will next be returned to the Kansas courts for further proceedings under the Kansas death penalty statute. Although the U.S. Supreme Court’s action marks the end of Robinson’s direct appeals, under both Kansas and federal law Robinson has remaining options to seek further judicial review through collateral proceedings.

Robinson was convicted in 2002 in Johnson County District Court of capital murder in connection with the serial murders of at least six women.

This is the first death penalty case to exhaust direct appeals since the Kansas Legislature reinstated the death penalty in 1994. Robinson is one of 10 people under sentence of death in Kansas. The other death penalty cases that remain pending at various stages of direct appeals before the Kansas Supreme Court are: State v. Scott Cheever (Greenwood County); State v. Gary Kleypas (Crawford County); State v. Jonathan Carr (Sedgwick County); State v. Reginald Carr (Sedgwick County); State v. Sydney Gleason (Barton County); State v. Justin Thurber (Cowley County); State v. Craig Kahler (Osage County); State v. Frazier Glenn Miller (Johnson County); and State v. Kyle Flack (Franklin County).

In an eleventh case, State v. Doug Belt (Sedgwick County), the defendant died in prison, but the appeal remains pending and the Kansas Supreme Court held oral argument on September 16.