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431.2135 Procedure for challenging condemned person's sanity.
This section shall provide the exclusive procedure for challenging a condemned
person's sanity, unless the Supreme Court of Kentucky expressly adopts a rule of
court providing otherwise.
(1) A condemned person or the person's attorney may file a motion for stay of
execution on the grounds that the condemned person is insane. The motion
shall be filed in the Circuit Court of the county where the condemned person is
incarcerated, or the county in which the condemned person was convicted, and
shall be supported by at least two (2) affidavits. The Attorney General shall file
a response within the time ordered by the court.
(2) Upon receiving a motion under subsection (1) of this section, the court shall
order the condemned person to be evaluated by at least two (2) licensed
mental health professionals and shall order the mental health professionals to
submit their written evaluation to the court within ten (10) days of the
evaluation. The court shall then schedule and conduct a hearing as soon as
possible to determine whether the condemned person is insane.
(3) The court shall base its determination of insanity on a preponderance of the
evidence. The court's determination may be appealed to the Supreme Court by
the condemned person or the Attorney General.
(4) If the condemned person is determined to be insane, he or she shall be
committed to the Kentucky Correctional Psychiatric Center. The treating
psychiatrist shall then report, once each month or more frequently if the court
orders, to the court and the condemned person's counsel on the progress the
condemned person has made and whether there is a substantial probability
that the person will become sane. If at any time a psychiatrist treating or
evaluating the person determines the person to be sane, the psychiatrist shall
immediately report that fact to the court.
(5) Upon receiving a report that a condemned person has become sane, the court
shall schedule an evaluation and conduct a hearing in accordance with
subsections (2) and (3) of this section to determine sanity. The court's
determination may be appealed to the Supreme Court by the condemned
person or the Attorney General.
Effective:July 15, 1998
History: Created 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 606, sec. 158, effective July 15, 1998.
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