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KY SB350

Bill

Status

Introduced

3/2/2026

Primary Sponsor

Gerald Neal

Click for details

Origin

Senate

2026 Regular Session

AI Summary

  • Abolishes capital punishment in Kentucky as of the effective date, adding a new section to KRS Chapter 532 prohibiting the death penalty
  • Requires courts to resentence any person currently under a death sentence to life imprisonment without benefit of probation or parole
  • Expands DNA testing rights for petitioners sentenced to death prior to the Act's effective date, exempting them from restrictions that apply to other petitioners (such as the requirement for trial conviction or Alford plea, and the prohibition on touch DNA testing)
  • Repeals 17 existing Kentucky statutes related to death penalty procedures, including execution methods, Supreme Court review of death sentences, and provisions regarding intellectual disability and mental illness exemptions
  • Amends sentencing statutes throughout KRS to remove references to death as a punishment option for capital offenses, while retaining life imprisonment without parole as the maximum sentence

Legislative Description

AN ACT relating to the abolition of the death penalty.

Courts

Last Action

to Committee on Committees (S)

3/2/2026

Committee Referrals

Committee on Committees3/2/2026

Full Bill Text

No bill text available