House passes bill to change execution regulations process March 31, 2026 Rep. John Hodgson, R-Fisherville, speaks on Senate Bill 251 on the House floor on Tuesday. The legislation would change how the state Department of Corrections can implement execution protocols. A high-res version is avail able here. FRANKFORT — A bill that would change how the state Department of Corrections can implement execution protocols passed the Kentucky House on Tuesday. Senate Bill 251 is sponsored by Sen. Stephen West, R-Paris. Rep. John Hodgson, R-Fisherville, presented the bill on the House floor. Hodgson said the legislation does not change the existing law on the death penalty, but would align Kentucky’s process with the law and other states. Under SB 251, the Department of Corrections could prescribe and implement execution protocols and procedures for inmates on death row by internal policy, memorandum or other forms of action. The department is currently required to promulgate administrative regulations to prescribe and implement execution protocols, Hodgson said. “This requirement is very unique,” he added. “No other state mandates that its execution procedures be tied to a formal, regulatory framework in quite the same way. As a result, we have a system that is far more vulnerable to prolonged legal challenges.” The current administrative regulations process and the legal challenges that often follow has delayed justice for victims, Hodgson said. “Senate Bill 251 is about restoring balance. It’s about ensuring that justice is not endlessly postponed,” he said. During discussion of the legislation, Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, shared her concerns on the death penalty, including how sometimes people are convicted and sentenced to death for crimes they did not commit. “I’m going to vote no on this bill and hope we get to a place where we are kinder, we seek justice in a better way, we better fund our public defenders, and the poorest of the poor are not given sentences unfairly,” Marzian said. Rep. James Tipton, R-Taylorsville, also spoke in opposition to the death penalty, citing the possibility of wrongful convictions and executions. “I don’t think an execution can bring peace to a family who’s lost a loved one for a heinous crime,” he added. “For several years, I’ve co-sponsored bills that would abolish the death penalty.” Although he is against the death penalty, Tipton filed a floor amendment to SB 251 that would add transparency to the new process if the bill becomes law. Under House Floor Amendment 2, the Department of Corrections would be required to publish any policy adopted related to execution protocols to the department’s website for public view. “(The amendment) doesn’t change the process that’s being adopted here today,” Tipton said. The House voted to adopt the floor amendment. House Majority Whip Jason Nemes, R-Middletown, also shared his feelings about the death penalty and asked Hodgson a question about the bill. “Does the right of the defendant to challenge the constitutionality of the death penalty protocols remain after this passes?” Nemes asked. Hodgson said the bill does not change any rights of the defendant to legally challenge the protocols and procedures of execution. In response, Nemes said he is against the death penalty, but would still vote for SB 251. “The law of the commonwealth is to have the death penalty, but because of judicial rulings that are technicalities or technical problems, we have not enforced the death penalty,” he said. “I want to get rid of it – I’ll say that again. But all this does is follow the law that exists and allow the death penalty to be enforced.” Rep. Kim King, R-Harrodsburg, said she also supports the goal of SB 251. “The way I read 251 is this does not even address the death penalty law here in Kentucky,” she said. “It just seeks to kind of put activist judges between guardrails and keep them on track.” The House passed SB 251 by a 68-23 vote. The legislation will now go back to the Senate for concurrence. The post House passes bill to change execution regulations process appeared first on The Lexington Times. ...read more read less