Kentucky State Sen. Keturah Herron (D) of Louisville has filed her legislative package (Kentucky LRC).
The Kentucky General Assembly is considering a legislative package designed to strengthen transparency in deaths involving law enforcement and corrections.
Sen. Keturah Herron, a Democrat from Louisville, introduced a three-part legislative package. It addresses deaths that occur in Kentucky’s jails and prisons, during the arrest process, and in behavioral health crisis situations where a traditional law enforcement response may not be the safest or most effective option.
Herron pointed to more than 230 deaths in Kentucky jails between 2020 and 2024, underscoring the need for clearer public reporting, independent reviews, and stronger prevention strategies.
Her package includes two bills and one resolution.
Those include:
Senate Bill 208 — Arrest-Related Deaths Transparency and Reporting
This legislation expands Kentucky’s post-mortem requirements to cover deaths that occur during the arrest process or while a person is being transported to incarceration, closing the gap between arrest and booking. It also requires timely notification to the Office of the Kentucky State Medical Examiner and mandates the publication of an annual report with non-identifying demographic and incident details broken down by county and agency.
Senate Bill 209 — External Detainee Fatality Review Panel
This bill would establish an independent External Detainee Fatality Review Panel to examine deaths of individuals in the custody of law enforcement, county jails, state correctional facilities, juvenile justice facilities, and contracted private facilities. The panel would access key records, publish findings and recommendations, and release an annual report focused on system and process improvements to help prevent future fatalities.
Senate Concurrent Resolution 110
This resolution directs the Legislative Research Commission to create a task force to study and recommend alternative community response models for mental health crises. The task force would gather input from law enforcement, the courts, state agencies, and mental health advocacy organizations. The need in Kentucky is urgent. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, nearly 813,000 Kentucky adults experience a mental health condition each year, and the state’s 988 crisis line centers received 30,073 calls in 2023.
Lawmakers have filed the measures, and they are now before the General Assembly.
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