17 April 2026 :
April 14, 2026 - Kentucky. Lawmakers override Beshear’s veto of death penalty bill SB 251
Senate Bill 251 removes death penalty administrative barriers
On 13 April, Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, vetoed Bill 251, but the legislature, where the Republican majority is overwhelming, passed the bill again just a few hours later, on 14 April, overriding the veto.
Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman praised the General Assembly for overriding the Governor’s veto of a piece of legislation created to deliver long overdue justice in Kentucky. Before they adjourned the 2026 regular session Wednesday night, the Senate and House gave final passage to Senate Bill 251, which would remove bureaucratic red tape from the process to impose the death penalty in Kentucky.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Steve West, R-Paris, allows the Kentucky Department of Corrections to set execution procedures through internal policies and memorandums, making the department exempt from formal administrative regulations. This allows a more streamlined process and avoids lengthy, drawn-out legal hurdles.
At least 10 courts in other states have held that their state’s department of corrections is not required to make regulations about the death penalty process. Kentucky now joins that group and is no longer required to engage in a lengthy, formal administrative rulemaking process to conduct executions.
24 inmates currently sit on Kentucky’s death row, and many have tried for decades to avoid their sentence delivered by a jury.
“Families and victims should matter more than the governor’s future political ambitions,” Coleman said. “I’m grateful to Sen. West and the General Assembly for this legislation and commend them for overriding the governor’s veto.”
SB 251 also requires the Kentucky Department of Corrections to publish any internal policies online.
The final votes, which were largely along party lines with the Republican supermajority, were 30-7 in the Senate and 74-16 in the House, to override Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto of the bill. Only a simple majority is required in Kentucky to override a gubernatorial veto.
Coleman’s office recently argued for the dismissal of a 2006 case, which is at the center of a 15-year ban on executions in the state. A dismissal would clear the way for about a dozen executions.
https://theinteriorjournal.com/2026/04/16/senate-bill-251-removes-death-penalty-administrative-barriers/
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/kentucky-lawmakers-override-beshears-veto-202658925.html
