(1) (a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, every death sentence
shall be executed by continuous intravenous injection of a substance or
combination of substances sufficient to cause death. The lethal injection shall
continue until the prisoner is dead.
(b) Prisoners who receive a death sentence prior to March 31, 1998, shall choose
the method of execution described in paragraph (a) of this subsection or the
method of execution known as electrocution, which shall consist of passing
through the prisoner's body a current of electricity of sufficient intensity to
cause death as quickly as possible. The application of the current shall
continue until the prisoner is dead. If the prisoner refuses to make a choice at
least twenty (20) days before the scheduled execution, the method shall be by
lethal injection.
(2) All executions of the death penalty by electrocution or lethal injection shall take
place within the confines of the state penal institution designated by the Department
of Corrections, and in an enclosure that will exclude public view thereof.
(3) No physician shall be involved in the conduct of an execution except to certify
cause of death provided that the condemned is declared dead by another person.
Effective: March 31, 1998
History: Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 220, sec. 1, effective March 31, 1998. --
Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 211, sec. 84, effective July 14, 1992. -- Amended 1986
Ky. Acts ch. 331, sec. 51, effective July 15, 1986. -- Amended 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 74,
Art. V, sec. 2. -- Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942,
from Ky. Stat. sec. 1137-1
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
18
cases (
1 in the last 5 years), 1996–2022 · leading case:
Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008).
Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008).
· cites it 14× “Stat. § 54-100 (2007); Del.Code Ann., Tit. 11, § 4209 (2006 Supp.”
Bowling v. Kentucky Dep't of Corr., 301 S.W.3d 478 (Ky. 2010).
· cites it 30× “Having reviewed the applicable law, it is apparent that the lethal injection protocol implements KRS 431.220, Kentucky's lethal injection statute and, further, that significant portions of the protocol are not matters of internal management for the Department but rather…”
Baze v. Rees, 217 S.W.3d 207 (Ky. 2006).
· cites it 4× “Both have refused to select a method of execution as provided by KRS 431.220. The statutory option allows an inmate to choose electrocution or to submit to the default of lethal injection as punishment.”
Nance v. Ward, 597 U.S. 159 (2022).
“2022); Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§431.220 (1)(a), 431.”
Provenzano v. Moore, 744 So. 2d 413 (Fla. 1999).
· cites it 3× “) [hereinafter Commission Report]; Ky.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 431.220 (Michie Supp.”
Arthur v. Comm'r, Alabama Dep't of Corr., 840 F.3d 1268 (11th Cir. 2016).
“Code § 40-23-114 (2014); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 431.220–223 (1998). 137 Case: 16-15549 Date Filed: 11/02/2016 Page: 138 of 140 but was stymied by the limited supply of lethal injection drugs and the secrecy surrounding such drugs.”
Hobbs v. Jones, 412 S.W.3d 844 (Ark. 2012).
“22; Ky. Rev.Stat. Ann. § 431.220 (upheld in Baze v.”
Davis v. Turpin, 539 S.E.2d 129 (Ga. 2000).
· cites it 2× “§ 24-3-540 (allowing lethal injection as an alternative to electrocution as of June 7, 1995); Ky.Rev.Stat.Ann. § 431.220 (abolishing electrocution where sentence is imposed after March 31, 1998, and providing lethal injection as an alternative for death sentences imposed before…”
State v. Webb, 750 A.2d 448 (Conn. 2000).
“§ 22-4001 (1995); Kentucky, Ky. Rev. Stat. § 431.220 (Lexis Law Publishing pocket part 1998); Louisiana, La.”
Michael Nance v. Comm'r, Georgia Dep't of Corr., 981 F.3d 1201 (11th Cir. 2020).
“Patterson, 1 A plurality of the Supreme Court could have done so in Baze, when the plaintiff challenged Kentucky’s method of execution, which statutorily required death sentences “be executed by continuous intravenous injection of a substance or combination of substances…”
McQueen v. Parker, 950 S.W.2d 226 (Ky. 1997).
· cites it 2× “Appellant is scheduled to die by means of electrocution pursuant to KRS 431.220 before sunrise on Tuesday, July 1, 1997.”
Furnish v. Commonwealth, 267 S.W.3d 656 (Ky. 2008).
“This contention is somewhat premature because KRS 431.220(b) allows the accused to elect the method of execution until twenty days pri- or to its imposition.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 431.220(1)(a) — 1 case
Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008).
“Stat. § 54-100 (2007); Del.Code Ann., Tit. 11, § 4209 (2006 Supp.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 431.220(3) — 1 case
Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008).
“Stat. § 54-100 (2007); Del.Code Ann., Tit. 11, § 4209 (2006 Supp.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 431.220(b) — 2 cases
Bowling v. Kentucky Dep't of Corr., 301 S.W.3d 478 (Ky. 2010).
“Having reviewed the applicable law, it is apparent that the lethal injection protocol implements KRS 431.220, Kentucky's lethal injection statute and, further, that significant portions of the protocol are not matters of internal management for the Department but rather…”
Furnish v. Commonwealth, 267 S.W.3d 656 (Ky. 2008).
“This contention is somewhat premature because KRS 431.220(b) allows the accused to elect the method of execution until twenty days pri- or to its imposition.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 431.220(l)(a) — 2 cases
Baze v. Rees, 217 S.W.3d 207 (Ky. 2006).
“Both have refused to select a method of execution as provided by KRS 431.220. The statutory option allows an inmate to choose electrocution or to submit to the default of lethal injection as punishment.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 431.220(l)(b) — 2 cases
Bowling v. Kentucky Dep't of Corr., 301 S.W.3d 478 (Ky. 2010).
“Having reviewed the applicable law, it is apparent that the lethal injection protocol implements KRS 431.220, Kentucky's lethal injection statute and, further, that significant portions of the protocol are not matters of internal management for the Department but rather…”
Baze v. Rees, 217 S.W.3d 207 (Ky. 2006).
“Both have refused to select a method of execution as provided by KRS 431.220. The statutory option allows an inmate to choose electrocution or to submit to the default of lethal injection as punishment.”
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