Atty General Russell Coleman files Emergency Appeal to thwart violent prisoner early releases

Good afternoon, my friend, although I'm really struggling with the espresso protein here. I think that was a made-up thing. That was a prank thing that was in there. Boy, you have this story that's popped up here that you filed an emergency appeal. To keep violent criminals behind bars is astounding because we go back to 2024. I know they enacted House Bill 5, the Safer Kentucky Act, which meant that violent people would be kept behind bars for an overwhelming percentage of their time. What has happened in Franklin County Circuit Court? Terry, I wish this were an April Fool's joke, but this is truly deadly serious. The Safer Kentucky Act contributed positively to our public safety here. My hat's off to represent General Bowman and others from our Louisville delegation. Because we've been on fire here in Louisville, there was a recognition that we need to do things differently. We need to apply a little more common sense in the judicial system. And the change was that those convicted of... Strangulation, manslaughter, robbery, carjacking. The list goes on. Your listeners will be shocked to know that of those offenses, these folks only had to serve 20% of their time before they were eligible for the parole board, for strangulation. for manslaughter, 20%. And so what the General Assembly did was the Safer Kentucky Act would say, you must serve at least 85% before you're eligible for parole. That's much like the federal system. Because of the actions of one judge in Franklin Circuit court, there's been a constitutional attack of the Safer Kentucky Act. We're fighting it out. I'm defending the statute in court. But while we're litigating, the judge is allowing. The 240 folks convicted of all types of offenses, we're talking about 37 people or so in your radio TV market, manslaughter, strangulation, reckless homicide that could be eligible for parole right now. And that is up to their individual judges in their cases because this Franklin County Circuit Court judge invalidated the Safer Kentucky Act or a portion of it. So each individual judge who handle those cases can determine whether a person is allowed to be cut loose? No, regrettably, we would at least have a failsafe there with some solid judges out in the state. It is up to whether, as of today, it's up to whether the parole board will release these folks. It's up to the parole board now. As of today, unless the Court of Appeals takes the action that I've sought, 240 of these folks are eligible for parole immediately. And we're talking about, let me give me an example. So let me add meat to the bones here.

An individual that was convicted of a child sex offense here in Jefferson County, he was soliciting online, and I'm not going to mention his name because I don't want to honor this guy or elevate him. He was soliciting online for a, quote, a very young cuddle buddy. He was trying to have sexual engagement with kids as young as six years old. Terry, that's what we're talking about here. He could potentially be released. As soon as today, if the Kentucky Parole Board released him. And what I'm seeking to do is while we're defending this law, let's keep these folks locked up where they should be, 240 of them. What is the timetable on a court of appeals request? I don't know how long that takes for that process to play out. So we, and it's a great question, and we filed our emergency motion last week. We are, it's up to the court. Unfortunately, if the court doesn't act soon, some of these folks could be released in the interim. And that is, again, because of the actions of one judge sitting in Franklin County, it could be days or even weeks before the Court of Appeals responds. to our motion. And it's up to ultimately the judges in the Kentucky Court of Appeals. And are victims notified if these folks who are involved in rape, strangulation, child sex abuse and so forth, are the victims notified right away? It's a great question. Once these offenders are released, we'll be released by the parole board. There's a system known as the Vine system. You've talked about it before. Kentucky's actually been out front, at least, on notifying victims. They would be notified. But my goal, Terry, is to prevent it. My goal is that these victims aren't notified because these offenders aren't released. And we talk about offenses like strangulation. Let me pull that one out. We know the data says. right here in Kentucky, if someone commits strangulation, if they're willing to put their hands around a victim's throat, we know that it's likely that they will commit homicide, that they will murder their domestic victim. But we also know, Terry, the data says that it's likely that they will commit homicide against the police officer. Almost 80% of those that kill our cops have committed a strangulation offense. Caleb Conley, young deputy in Scott County over in Georgetown, we prosecuted his case. We're able to get a life without possibility of parole against Stephen Shin-Shang who killed this young deputy on the side of I-75 committed strangulation against his offender. When we release these folks, we're putting our officers, our deputies, our troopers at risk and our families at risk. That's what they always tell us. Law enforcement responding to domestic abuse oftentimes. That's where this flashpoint boils over so many times and endangers everybody.

It's about common sense. Legalese gets complicated. This is not complicated. This is about justice and common sense. And Terry, thank you for continuing to focus on issues that matter. This matters. This is not, this is a bit of a dark topic, but this matters to the families of the folks that are listening sitting in their trucks right now. This matters to their safety. And we're going to continue this fight. Appreciate you, Mr. Attorney General. Thanks so much. Always a pleasure, sir. See you there. Russell Coleman, live on News Radio 840.