KRS 431.220: Execution of death sentence.

(1) (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, every death sentence

shall be executed by continuous intravenous injection of a substance or

combination of substances sufficient to cause death. The lethal injection shall

continue until the prisoner is dead.

(b) Prisoners who receive a death sentence prior to March 31, 1998, shall choose

the method of execution described in paragraph (a) of this subsection or the

method of execution known as electrocution, which shall consist of passing

through the p risoner's body a current of electricity of sufficient intensity to

cause death as quickly as possible. The application of the current shall

continue until the prisoner is dead. If the prisoner refuses to make a choice at

least twenty (20) days before the s cheduled execution, the method shall be by

lethal injection.

(2) All executions of the death penalty by electrocution or lethal injection shall take

place within the confines of the state penal institution designated by the Department

of Corrections, and in an enclosure that will exclude public view thereof.

(3) No physician shall be involved in the conduct of an execution except to certify

cause of death provided that the condemned is declared dead by another person.