LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Kentucky bill making major changes to sentencing and parole in Kentucky is now law.
Gov. Andy Beshear signed House Bill 422, also known as Logan's Law, Thursday.
The bill is named after 6-year-old Logan Tipton, who was killed when Ronald Exantus broke into his family home on Douglas Avenue in Versailles on Dec. 7, 2015.
Exantus was sentenced in 2018 to 20 years in prison for stabbing Tipton to death. He also stabbed Logan's sister, who survived, and assaulted their father. He was arrested after Logan's father tackled him and held him down until police arrived.
During his six-day trial, the defense argued Exantus was insane at the time of the crime and in a state of psychosis. But both the defense and prosecution admitted that he killed the boy.
Ronald Exantus was booked into the Kentucky State Reformatory in La Grange on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, after his extradition from Florida. (Photo courtesy of VINE)
Exantus was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, but he was convicted for the brutal assaults on other family members the night he broke into the home.
HB 422 was filed in response to Exantus being released from prison early on good behavior in October 2025 after serving less than half of his 20-year prison sentence for Tipton's death.
The Kentucky Department of Corrections was required to release Exantus on Mandatory Reentry Supervision per Kentucky law, despite the parole board voting unanimously to keep him in prison every time it had the opportunity. The board doesn't have the authority to release inmates on MRS, which is a process governed by state law.
Logan's Law expands the definition of a violent offender and increases the time certain offenders must serve before parole. That includes raising parole eligibility for life sentences from 25 to 35 years. It also limits early release options for violent felons.
The bill also reforms the statute on an insanity plea, and creates a pathway for severely mentally ill defendants to receive proper treatment. Additionally, it adds mandatory reentry supervision reform and make sure that if the parole board denies parole to someone convicted of a violent felony, that person would not be eligible for early release.
To read HB 422/Logan's Law, click here.
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