Topeka ? The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday rejected appeals from four men convicted of first-degree murder, including a former Kansas City, Kan., resident imprisoned for shooting his grandmother.

Vaughn Flournoy had hoped the court would again overturn his sentence of life with no chance of parole for 40 years for the June 1999 slaying of 62-year-old Lillian J. Thomas, after an argument.

In 2001, the Supreme Court rejected the same sentence and sent Flournoy’s case back to Wyandotte County District Court, saying the judge had misweighed factors arguing for and against the “Hard 40” sentence.

After another hearing, the judge reweighed the factors and imposed the same sentence, causing Flournoy to appeal again. On Friday, the Supreme Court said in an unsigned opinion, “No abuse of discretion has been shown.”

The Supreme Court also rejected appeals from:

• Horace Bell Jr., convicted in Seward County District Court for the drive-by shooting death of Anthony McCain in May 2000 in Liberal.
• Joby M. Hoge, convicted of first-degree murder in Sedgwick County in the shooting of Ivan Winn during a June 2000 burglary of Winn’s home.
• Timothy Lee Wolf Pennington, convicted in Shawnee County of slashing the throat of Gary Whitaker, an acquaintance, during a robbery in May 2000.