LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A group of Republican lawmakers want to make clear which crimes are eligible for the death penalty in Kentucky despite a hold on executions in the state that's been in place since 2010.

Last week, several Louisville area House Republicans announced an 18-point public safety policy, called the Safer Kentucky Act, to combat crime. In this newly proposed plan, four crimes are distinctly outlined to be considered eligible for the death penalty. Keep in mind, murder is considered a base line for death penalty eligibility, but it's intended for the most serious type of murders:

  • Death Penalty for Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer
    • Requires a prosecutor to seek the death penalty if there is evidence to show that a law enforcement officer was intentionally killed while in lawful performance of their duties
  • Creating a Kentucky Statute for Carjacking
    • Makes carjacking a Class C felony
    • If a carjacking results in the serious physical injury of an individual who is not a participant in the crime, it would be a prosecuted as a Class B felony
    • The death of an individual who is not a participant in the carjacking would be prosecuted as a capital offense (death penalty)
  • Enhancing the Penalty for Fentanyl Delivery Causing Overdose Death
    • Death by delivery constitutes murder
    • Allows the death penalty or life without parole for an individual that knowingly sells fentanyl or a fentanyl derivative to another person when the injection, ingestion, inhalation, or other introduction of the fentanyl or fentanyl derivative causes the death of such person
  • Targeting Violent Persistent Felony Offenders - "Three Strikes Law"
    • Requires life without probation or parole for those convicted of a violent felony that does not qualify as a capital offense if the individual already has two separate violent felony convictions on their criminal record
    • Allows the death penalty to be used if the third violent felony is a capital offense

Marco Allen Chapman was executed in 2008, the last person to be executed in Kentucky. 

In 2006, attorney David Barron presented argued several parts of execution procedure were unconstitutional. And in 2010, a Franklin Circuit Court judge agreed and pointed out three specific concerns, including the type of chemicals used in lethal injection and that the state was unfairly condemning the mentally ill and mentally disabled.

Barron said there's several parts of the execution process he finds problem with, but, at the minimum, what the judge highlighted would need to be fixed before lifting the injunction could even be considered. And it also means execution dates can't be set.

"Once an injunction is in place, unless it's lifted or modified by a court, it must be complied with," Barron said. "You'd be violating a court order to do anything against it."

Rep. Jared Bauman, R-Louisville, is the lead sponsor on the Safer Kentucky Act. During the news conference announcing the proposal WDRB News asked if it was aimless to address death penalty and its usage when executions are paused.

He responded, "the death penalty for murdering a law enforcement officer? No."

In an updated statement Tuesday, he also said, in part, "the fact that executions are not being carried out now falls upon the Department of Corrections. The executive branch is responsible for carrying out the policies enacted by the legislature. The workgroup would welcome a discussion about the situation with Corrections."

Barron said there are efforts to address the type of drug used for lethal injection. WDRB News asked the Department of Corrections if the drugs necessary to perform an execution if the injunction were lifted are on hand within the department and didn't get a response Tuesday.

The exact language of the Safer Kentucky Act hasn't been released yet, but Barron warns there could be constitutionality issues of what it seems lawmakers are proposing at this point.

The bill draft is expected to be released in December.

Related Stories:

Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.