{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-431.2135","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 431.2135","heading":"Procedure for challenging condemned person's sanity.","body":"This section shall provide the exclusive procedure for challenging a condemned person's\nsanity, unless the Supreme Court of Kentucky expressly adopts a rule of court providing\notherwise.\n(1) A condemned person or the person's attorney may file a motion for  stay of\nexecution on the grounds that the condemned person is insane. The motion shall be\nfiled in the Circuit Court of the county where the condemned person is incarcerated,\nor the county in which the condemned person was convicted, and shall be supported\nby at least two (2) affidavits. The Attorney General shall file a response within the\ntime ordered by the court.\n(2) Upon receiving a motion under subsection (1) of this section, the court shall order\nthe condemned person to be evaluated by at least two (2) licensed mental health\nprofessionals and shall order the mental health professionals to submit their written\nevaluation to the court within ten (10) days of the evaluation. The court shall then\nschedule and conduct a hearing as soon as possible to dete rmine whether the\ncondemned person is insane.\n(3) The court shall base its determination of insanity on a preponderance of the\nevidence. The court's determination may be appealed to the Supreme Court by the\ncondemned person or the Attorney General.\n(4) If the condemned person is determined to be insane, he or she shall be committed to\nthe Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center. The treating psychiatrist shall then\nreport, once each month or more frequently if the court orders, to the court and the\ncondemned person's counsel on the progress the condemned person has made and\nwhether there is a substantial probability that the person will become sane. If at any\ntime a psychiatrist treating or evaluating the person determines the person to be\nsane, the psychiatrist shall immediately report that fact to the court.\n(5) Upon receiving a report that a condemned person has become sane, the court shall\nschedule an evaluation and conduct a hearing in accordance with subsections (2)\nand (3) of this section to determine  sanity. The court's determination may be\nappealed to the Supreme Court by the condemned person or the Attorney General.","path":["KRS Chapter 431"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=18606","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:59:45Z","sha256":"9f700ef509d391941233ac657944fd095219fd2c5af2f9efd475887bd0793608","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-431.213","next":"us-ky/krs-431.215"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}