Frankfort — Attorney General Russell Coleman is urging Andy Beshear to sign a new bill designed to streamline the state’s death penalty process and potentially end a 15-year pause on executions.
Senate Bill 251, sponsored by Steve West, passed the General Assembly with a 68-23 vote in the House and 27-9 in the Senate. The legislation would allow the Kentucky Department of Corrections to establish execution protocols through internal policies rather than formal administrative regulations, which officials say have contributed to legal challenges and delays.
Kentucky currently has 24 inmates on death row. Coleman said many victims’ families have waited years for sentences handed down by juries to be carried out. He also called on the governor to sign a death warrant in the case involving the killing of Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and Deputy Arthur Briscoe.
“Senate Bill 251 is less about the death penalty itself and more about the rule of law,” West said, adding that the measure would align Kentucky with other states that manage execution protocols internally.
While the bill removes the requirement for formal administrative regulations, it still mandates that all execution policies be published online to maintain transparency.
The Attorney General’s Office has also recently pushed to dismiss a 2006 court case that has effectively blocked executions in the state for over a decade. If that case is dismissed, officials say it could clear the way for roughly a dozen executions to move forward.
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