(WBKO) – A bill that could change how Kentucky carries out the death penalty remains vetoed by Gov. Andy Beshear, but lawmakers are pushing back.
Senate Bill 251 centers around one question: how Kentucky sets its execution protocols.
Currently, those procedures must go through the state’s administrative regulation process, a step supporters say has caused years of delays and legal challenges.
Bill would streamline execution protocol process
Bill sponsor Steve West said that’s what needs to change.
“There’s this constant series of delays that have caused the executions in Kentucky to basically come to a halt,” West said. “The Kentucky Supreme Court handed down a decision that mandated that any execution protocols had to be put within administrative regs.”
The bill would allow the Department of Corrections to instead create those protocols through internal policies and memorandums, cutting out that regulatory step.
Supporters, including Attorney General Russell Coleman, say that would streamline the process and help move long-delayed cases forward.
But Beshear vetoed the bill, arguing it could actually create more problems.
In his veto message, Beshear wrote Senate Bill 251 “seeks to bypass established legal procedures” and warned it would “create more, not less, litigation.”
West disagrees, pointing to how long the system has already been stalled.
“It’s the governor’s job to execute the law,” West said. “I don’t see how it could be slowed down much more than it already is. It’s been years and years and years since the last execution took place in Kentucky.”
Transparency requirement added
The bill includes a transparency requirement, added after feedback from the House, mandating that any execution protocols be made public.
West said that should address concerns about oversight.
“The House requested that any internal policies be transparent. And we agreed with that,” West said. “And so there’s no reason for any concern there.”
For supporters, the issue ultimately comes down to victims’ families, some of whom have waited decades for sentences to be carried out.
“You’ve been victimized once, and I think many of these families are being victimized again with withholding of justice,” West said.
For now, the bill remains vetoed, but lawmakers could still attempt an override before the General Assembly adjourns.
If that override happens, Senate Bill 251 would become law, potentially clearing a path for executions to resume in Kentucky after years of delays.