LOUISVILLE, Ky. — House Bill 422, filed Thursday by lawmakers in the Kentucky General Assembly, would eliminate the insanity defense and substantially restructure the state’s sentencing and parole system for violent crimes. The legislation, known as “Logan’s Law,” has attracted 32 cosponsors.
The bill is named for Logan Tipton, a six-year-old boy who was stabbed to death while sleeping in his Versailles home in 2015. Ronald Exantus, the man who confessed to killing Logan, was acquitted of murder and first-degree burglary by reason of insanity in 2018. The same jury found him guilty of assaulting Logan’s father, Dean Tipton, and two of Logan’s sisters, receiving a 20-year sentence for those crimes.
According to a press release from the bill’s sponsors, State Representatives Dan Fister and TJ Roberts, HB 422 would remove provisions in Kentucky law allowing defendants to be found not guilty by reason of insanity.
Recent Release Prompts Legislative Action
Exantus was released from Kentucky custody in October on mandatory reentry supervision after serving less than half his sentence, despite being denied parole three times by the Kentucky Parole Board. His release was based on good behavior credits and the state’s mandatory reentry supervision program…