USA - Kentucky. Executions remain suspended

September 24, 2026 - Kentucky. Kentucky Supreme Court denies attorney general’s request to bring back death penalty

The Kentucky Supreme Court on Thursday, with a 5-1 vote, denied Attorney General Russell Coleman’s petition to lift a long-standing injunction that has prevented executions in the state.

According to the court’s Sept. 24 opinion, multiple Kentucky death row inmates filed a lawsuit in 2006 seeking an injunction to halt executions while the Commonwealth reviewed its lethal injection procedures. The injunction took effect in 2010 and has remained in place since.

The Kentucky Department of Corrections currently houses 24 inmates on death row. One of those inmates, Gregory Wilson, had been scheduled for execution by lethal injection on Sept. 16, 2010. However, the injunction took effect Sept. 10, 2010, preventing the execution from moving forward.

In 2025, Coleman sought to dissolve the injunction and resume executions, specifically in the case of Ralph Baze, who was convicted of killing two law enforcement officers in 1992.

That June, Coleman sent a letter to Gov. Andy Beshear arguing that the injunction did not apply to Baze and recommending that the governor issue a death warrant.

Beshear responded that he lacked the authority to issue a death warrant under those circumstances and noted that the Department of Corrections did not have the drugs necessary to carry out a lethal injection.

On Nov. 6, 2025, Coleman filed a motion asking the court to clarify the scope of the injunction and declare that it did not prevent the governor from issuing a death warrant for Baze. The court denied that motion in December.

In its latest opinion, the court said that even if the governor were to sign a death warrant, it would serve only as a recommendation rather than an order of execution. The court also found that Beshear’s concerns about the lack of execution drugs were valid and noted that while the attorney general may advise the governor, the governor is not required to follow that advice.

The court further ruled that the dispute between Coleman and Beshear over the interpretation of the injunction was a nonjusticiable claim.

The opinion also stated that Coleman failed “to demonstrate that great injustice and irreparable injury will result unless a writ is issued.” The court noted that the injunction has been in place for 16 years and that no party had previously argued it applied only to Wilson’s execution. Instead, the court said it has consistently interpreted the injunction as applying to all executions.

As a result, the Kentucky Supreme Court denied Coleman’s petition.

In response, Coleman issued the following statement: “All seven justices agree that the decision to deliver justice to the families of Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and Deputy Arthur Briscoe is up to Governor Beshear. The Governor can sign a death warrant for Ralph Baze today. Until the Governor stops hiding and fulfills his legal duty, we will continue pushing for justice in every way.”