Kentucky Supreme Court maintains death penalty litigation

The Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled 6-1 to deny a petition to end two decades of litigation regarding the state’s death penalty implementation procedures. The court declined to issue a Writ of Mandamus that would have compelled Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd to issue a final decision on a lawsuit filed by death row inmates in 2006.

Since 2010, a temporary injunction has halted executions pending the adoption of new regulations by the Department of Corrections. While new regulations were eventually adopted, Judge Shepherd maintained the injunction in 2025 due to unresolved questions concerning the execution of inmates with intellectual disabilities. He noted that the Governor or the Department of Corrections could seek to modify the injunction if they intend to proceed with death warrants.

Attorney General Russell Coleman recently requested that Governor Andy Beshear sign a death warrant for Ralph Baze, whose appeals were exhausted. Governor Beshear declined the request, citing ongoing administrative regulation changes, a lack of necessary execution drugs due to refusal from pharmaceutical companies, and his interpretation that the 2010 injunction remains in effect.