AN ACT relating to the abolition of the death penalty.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 532 to abolish the death penalty and replace it with life imprisonment without parole for inmates presently sentenced to death; amend KRS 532.030 to remove the death penalty; amend KRS 640.040 to prohibit life imprisonment without benefit of parole for a juvenile offender convicted of a capital offense; amend KRS 640.010 to define "serious intellectual disability" and "significant subaverage general intellectual functioning"; amend KRS 422.285, 532.050, 532.100, and 533.010 to conform; repeal KRS 431.213, 431.2135, 431.218, 431.220, 431.223, 431.224, 431.240, 431.250, 431.260, 431.270, 507A.060, 532.025, 532.075, 532.130, 532.135, 532.140, 532.300, 532.305, and 532.309.

Introduced: February 4, 2025

Last action: February 6, 2025

To Judiciary (S)

Read the full text Kentucky Legislature LegiScan

AI-generated — always verify with primary sources

Plain-language summary

Beta

This bill would end the use of the death penalty in Kentucky and replace it with life in prison without the possibility of parole as the most severe punishment available. It would also convert the sentences of people currently on death row to life without parole, and it would remove laws governing how the death penalty is carried out. Additionally, it would prohibit sentencing juvenile offenders convicted of capital crimes to life without parole. Who it may affect: people currently on death row, individuals convicted of capital offenses, juvenile offenders, and their families.

Open official bill text (PDF)·Report a problem with the summary