Wichita ? The former district attorney who prosecuted two Wichita brothers for several murders during a 2000 crime spree criticized Gov. Sam Brownback Wednesday for trying to exploit the case in a new campaign ad.

Former Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston accused the Republican governor of forgetting his legal obligations in “a political last ditch effort” to undercut the qualifications and integrity of the Kansas Supreme Court and his Democratic challenger, Paul Davis.

Brownback’s ad references Reginald and Jonathan Carr, whose death sentences for quadruple killings were vacated in July by the Kansas Supreme Court. The Wichita brothers were convicted of killing five people in December 2000, including four victims who were shot at point-blank range in a soccer field.

The television commercial was released on Tuesday, the same day that Brownback made the issue of judicial selection during a gubernatorial debate.

“This case has devastated our community for almost fourteen years,” Foulston wrote in an emailed statement. “It is beyond disgraceful that Sam Brownback would exploit this tragedy and make the victims’ families relive that horrific crime every time they turn on their television just for the sake of getting re-elected. There is clearly no limit to what Sam Brownback will do or say to stay in office.”

Brownback spokesman John Milburn in an emailed statement thanked Foulston for prosecuting the case while portraying Davis as a liberal who will appoint liberal judges who will make law rather than interpret it.

Kansas Republican Party Chairman Kelly Arnold also urged voters on Wednesday to vote against retaining two justices whose terms are up for election, citing the Carr brothers’ decision.

Their relatives have formed an organization opposing the retention of two of the Kansas Supreme Court justices who overturned the killers’ death sentences. Kansans for Justice wants voters to remove Lee Johnson and Eric Rosen from the court in November.

The two justices noted in a emailed statement that the Carr brothers remain in prison and that the state can seek the death penalty again. The two justices said it is improper to discuss the cases because they’re still pending.