Dear Editor,
As sponsors of prefiled legislation whose purpose is to prohibit Kentucky from executing
someone who is severely mentally ill when he or she commits a capital murder, we are
compelled to respond to comments made by the elected Commonwealth Attorney of
Fayette County, Ray Larson, during his recent appearance on the KET Kentucky Tonight
program.
Holding up what he claimed was the text of the bill 12, he told viewers that our bill
would allow those already sentenced to death to re-open their cases.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Our proposed legislation is very clear about
when it becomes effective and to whom it applies. Section 3, subsection (3) of the text of
the bill explicitly states the following: “The provisions of KRS 532.135 and 532.140
shall apply only to trials commenced after July 13, 1990, for seriously mentally retarded
offenders and after the effective date of this Act, for severely mentally ill offenders.”
The “effective date of this Act, for severely mentally ill offenders” means that, if the bill
passes and becomes law, this new law would then apply only to those whose trials begin
90 days after the end of the legislative session of 2010, sometime in July, 2010. It does
not apply to any other cases.
We sincerely hope the elected Fayette Commonwealth Attorney reads bills more
carefully in the future before he provides such clearly inaccurate information to the
people of Kentucky. As the recent exoneration of an innocent man in Jefferson County
demonstrates, we have enough mistakes in the system already. Prosecutors need to be
especially cautious when speaking about legislation that involves the taking of a human
life.
Sincerely,
State Rep. David Floyd
State Rep. Darryl Owens
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