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State And Federal Info

Kentucky

Famous Capital Cases

Rainey Bethea, executed August 14, 1936 at Owensboro, Kentucky, was the last public execution in America. He was publicly hanged for rape on August 14, 1936 in a parking lot in Owensboro, Kentucky (to avoid damage to the courthouse lawn by thousands of people who were expected to attend). Bethea, who was black, confessed to the rape and murder of a 70-year-old white woman named Lischia Edwards but he was never charged with murder. Murder was punishable by death in the electric chair at Eddyville while rape was punishable by public hanging in the county where the rape occurred. Prosecutors opted to go with the rape charge only. The spectacle that attended the hanging contributed to the end of public executions in the United States.

Kevin Stanford is one of three juvenile offenders sentenced to death in Kentucky since the Commonwealth brought back capital punishment in 1975. Sentenced to death for a January 1981 murder committed when he was 17 years old, Stanford’s case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which — in a 5-4 vote — upheld the use of the death penalty against offenders aged 16 or 17. In 2003, Governor Paul Patton commuted Stanford’s death sentence to life without possibility of parole. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Stanford v. Kentucky in 2005, ruling in Roper v. Simmons that the application of the death penalty against offenders younger than age 18 constituted cruel and unusual punishment. The Kentucky Supreme Court had previously overturned the conviction of Todd Ice, who was 15 years old when he charged with the December 1978 murder of a seven-year-old girl. On retrial, Ice was convicted of a lesser offense.

Notable Exonerations

Larry Osborne — then the youngest person on Kentucky’s death row — was acquitted upon retrial in July 2002 for the December 1997 murders of two people. Osborne was 17 at the time of his arrest. The 1998 conviction and death sentence was overturned by a unanimous vote of the Kentucky Supreme Court and a new trial was ordered.

Milestones in Abolition/Reinstatement

In 1880, Kentucky abolished public hanging. In 1920, Kentucky restored public hanging for rape and provided that the sentence was to be carried out in the county where the rape occurred, although prisoners condemned for murder were executed in prison in the electric chair.

In 1938, Kentucky abolished hanging after as many as 20,000 people witnessed the August 14, 1936 hanging of Rainey Bethea (see above).

In 1974, two years after Furman v. Georgia, Kentucky enacted a new capital sentencing statute, Ky. Rev. Stat. § 532.030(1) (1974), that went into effect January 1, 1975. The statute called for a mandatory death sentence for those convicted of murder. The three prisoners sentenced to death under that statute had their death sentences overturned when the U.S. Supreme Court declared mandatory death sentences unconstitutional on July 2, 1976.

In a special legislative session in December 1976, the Kentucky legislature repealed the mandatory death penalty statute and enacted the Commonwealth’s current death penalty statute, which took effect on December 22, 1976.

Kentucky “Firsts”

Kentucky adopted the Racial Justice Act on February 5, 1998, allowing judges to consider whether racial bias played a role in the decision to seek or impose the death penalty.

Other Interesting Facts

Kentucky holds the record for the most judicially authorized executions in a single day: on July 13, 1928 seven men were sequentially electrocuted in “Old Sparky” (the nickname given to the electric chair in Eddyville).

Kentucky has not executed a female in more than 150 years. On February 7, 1868, Kentucky executed a 13-year-old black girl, identified only as “Susan.” The youngest person (whose age is known) executed in the state was an enslaved 12-year-old boy named Bill who was hanged on July 30, 1791.

A one-lane bridge. Photo by Donald Vish, who offers this description of the bridge: "For generations, this one lane bridge was governed by the iron law of civility and regulated by the fine art of compromise. I am proud of my state for its history and ethos of overcoming adversity and pursuit of its motto:  United We Stand, Divided We Fall."
A one-lane bridge. Photo by Donald Vish, who offers this descrip­tion of the bridge: ​“For gen­er­a­tions, this one lane bridge was gov­erned by the iron law of civil­i­ty and reg­u­lat­ed by the fine art of com­pro­mise. I am proud of my state for its his­to­ry and ethos of over­com­ing adver­si­ty and pur­suit of its mot­to: United We Stand, Divided We Fall.”

Resources

  • Kentucky Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty
  • American Bar Association Kentucky Death Penalty Assessment
  • Department of Corrections
  • Prosecutors Advisory Council
  • Department of Public Advocacy
  • Victims’ services
  • See Roberta M. Harding, Kentucky: Life and Death in Kentucky: Past, Present, and Future, Kentucky Law Journal On-Line, vol. 102 (2013-2014).

Kentucky Execution Totals Since 1976

News & Developments


Mental Illness

Apr 14, 2022

Kentucky Becomes Second State to Bar Imposing Death Penalty on Those Diagnosed as Seriously Mentally Ill

Kentucky has become the sec­ond state in the U.S. to bar impos­ing the death penal­ty on those diag­nosed as seri­ous­ly men­tal­ly ill. On April 8, 2022, Governor Andy Beshear (pic­tured) signed 

Kentucky Becomes Second State to Bar Imposing Death Penalty on Those Diagnosed as Seriously Mentally Ill

Mental Illness

Mar 29, 2022

Kentucky Legislature Passes Bill Prohibiting Death Penalty for People with Serious Mental Illness

The Kentucky State Senate has giv­en final leg­isla­tive approval to a bill that would make the Commonwealth the sec­ond U.S. state to bar the exe­cu­tion of peo­ple with seri­ous men­tal ill­ness. On March 25, 2022, the Republican…

Kentucky Legislature Passes Bill Prohibiting Death Penalty for People with Serious Mental Illness

Mental Illness

Feb 23, 2022

Kentucky and South Dakota Advance Bills to Bar Death Penalty for People with Severe Mental Illness

Bills that would exempt indi­vid­u­als with severe men­tal ill­ness from the death penal­ty have tak­en major steps for­ward in the Kentucky and South Dakota leg­is­la­tures. The Kentucky House of Representatives vot­ed overw…

Kentucky and South Dakota Advance Bills to Bar Death Penalty for People with Severe Mental Illness

Arbitrariness

Jan 13, 2022

New Study: Kentucky Death Penalty Racially Biased, Arbitrary, Error Prone

Kentucky’s death penal­ty is racial­ly dis­crim­i­na­to­ry, geo­graph­i­cal­ly arbi­trary, and rid­dled with sys­temic flaws, a new study of the commonwealth’s use of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment has found. The study, 

New Study: Kentucky Death Penalty Racially Biased, Arbitrary, Error Prone

Juveniles

May 03, 2021

Kentucky Prosecutors Drop Death Penalty in Cases That Raised Constitutionality of Capital Punishment for Offenders Aged 18 – 21

Kentucky pros­e­cu­tors have dropped cap­i­tal charges against two defen­dants who had chal­lenged the con­sti­tu­tion­al­i­ty of the death penal­ty for crimes com­mit­ted by offend­ers younger than 21 years old. On April 21, 2021, pros­e­cu­tors ann…

Kentucky Prosecutors Drop Death Penalty in Cases That Raised Constitutionality of Capital Punishment for Offenders Aged 18–21

Mental Illness

Mar 03, 2021

With Overwhelming Bipartisan Support, Kentucky House Passes Bill to Ban Death Penalty for Defendants with Serious Mental Illness

In an over­whelm­ing bipar­ti­san vote, the Kentucky House of Representatives has approved a bill that would pro­hib­it the death penal­ty for peo­ple with severe men­tal ill­ness. On March 1, 2021, the House vot­ed by a mar­gin of 

With Overwhelming Bipartisan Support, Kentucky House Passes Bill to Ban Death Penalty for Defendants with Serious Mental Illness

Innocence

Apr 24, 2020

Federal Judge Orders Jury Trial on Claim that Kentucky Exoneree Who Was Threatened With Death Penalty Was Framed for Murder

A fed­er­al judge has ruled that a civ­il rights law­suit against a detec­tive who alleged­ly framed a Kentucky woman for a mur­der she was phys­i­cal­ly inca­pable of com­mit­ting may pro­ceed to a jury tri­al. On April 1, 2020, U.S. D…

Federal Judge Orders Jury Trial on Claim that Kentucky Exoneree Who Was Threatened With Death Penalty Was Framed for Murder

Recent Legislative Activity

Feb 28, 2020

Legislative Roundup — Recent Legislative Activity as of February 28, 2020

Virginia — The House Health, Welfare, and Institutions Committee vot­ed 13 – 9 on February 25 to approve a bill that would make the iden­ti­ty of any enti­ty that pro­vides exe­cu­tion drugs pub­lic information. 

Feb 24, 2020

Report: Failure to Implement Reforms Undermines Legitimacy of Kentucky’s Death-Penalty System

Nine years after an American Bar Association (ABA) study iden­ti­fied systemic…

Report: Failure to Implement Reforms Undermines Legitimacy of Kentucky’s Death-Penalty System

Prosecutorial Accountability

Feb 17, 2020

News Brief — Kentucky Public Defender Cleared of Tampering Charges in Death Penalty Case

NEWS (2/​17/​20): A Kentucky pub­lic defend­er has been cleared of charges that she tam­pered with evi­dence in a cap­i­tal case. On February 17, 2020, a Kentucky grand jury declined to indict 

News Brief — Kentucky Public Defender Cleared of Tampering Charges in Death Penalty Case
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View Information by State

Additional Information


  • Death Penalty: Yes
  • Number of Executions Since 1976: 3
  • Number of Executions Before 1976 (may include federal and military executions): 424
  • Current Death Row Population: 27
  • Women on Death Row: 1
  • Number of Innocent Persons Freed From Death Row: 1
  • Number of Clemencies Granted: 4
  • Date of Reinstatement (following Furman v. Georgia): January 1, 1975
  • First Execution After Reinstatement: 1997
  • Location of Death Row/Executions: Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville (Women: Pee Wee Valley)
  • Capital: Frankfort
  • Region: South
  • Population: 4,505,836*
  • Murder Rate (per 100,000 population): 4.95
  • Is Life Without Parole an Option: Yes
  • Can a defendant get death for a felony in which s/he was not responsible for the murder?: No
  • Method of Execution: L.I. for persons sentenced on or after 3/31/98; inmates sentenced prior may select L.I. or electrocution.
  • How is Sentence Determined?: Jury
  • Clemency Process: Governor has sole authority to grant clemency
  • Governor: Andy Beshear

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