FRANKFORT, Ky. — There were some tense moments at the Capitol Thursday as lawmakers quizzed Kentucky Corrections Officials about prisoners set free during the pandemic.
One senator questioned motives and why inmates were
Republicans have complained about Governor Andy Beshear's executive orders during the pandemic. They say he is not working with them enough and plan to reel in his authority when they return here in January.
Thursday they targeted his commuting of sentences for nearly two thousand prisoners.
“It sounds like we took better care of our inmates than we did our unemployed workers,” said 2nd District Senator Danny Carroll.
Carroll is also a former police officer. He was the most critical of Justice and Public Safety Cabinet officials, especially after learning that prisoners were signed up for Medicaid and some at-risk prisoners given NARCAN kits as they were released.
“Did you all direct any of our jails or anyone to include voter registration cards in release packets,” Carroll asked.
Justice and Public Safety Cabinet General Counsel, Robyn Bender replied, “That information is included every time an individual is released from our custody, not just during these commutations. So, it was no different than any other time an individual is released when they serve out their sentence. We did not handle this any different.”
He questioned the officials who testified that through 4 executive orders, beginning in April and ending in August, 1,881 prisoners saw their sentences commuted by Governor Beshear.
“While we didn’t have a lot of science to begin with, we hoped that we did have common sense,” explained Secretary Mary Noble. “And so we began an emergency analysis for what could be done to protect and to save the lives of those folks in our institutions our workers and the folks around us and yet balance that with public safety.”
They insisted that none of those released committed violent or sexual offenses and most were within six months of finishing their sentence and or at high risk from the virus.
House Minority Whip, Representative Angie Hatton, defended the Governor, “If we didn't take some action to protect them (the prisoners), would be changing a sentence of a few years in prison for theft basically effectively into a death sentence for some of these people.”
In the most intense exchange, Senator Carroll asked the cabinet secretary what she'd say to a victim of a first degree burglary if the burglar was set free by the governor. Secretary Noble continued to defend her position as having protected lives at an uncertain time.
You can watch that full exchange here.