Last week, the Franklin County Circuit Court ordered the Kentucky Department of Corrections (DOC) to recalculate parole eligibility dates for certain inmates and that certain inmates must be released by July 17th. The judge who determined this ruling has stated the Department will be held in contempt if it does not comply. DOC is currently challenging this decision in court and believes that these inmates should serve a greater portion of their sentence, but as a result, some inmates who were previously required to serve 85% of their sentence before becoming eligible for parole may now become eligible after serving 20%.
This is how our justice system works. Juries and courts, not the Department of Corrections, determine if an individual is guilty of a crime and how long he or she must serve. The Department strictly calculates sentences in accordance with Kentucky statutes and the final judgments entered by the sentencing courts.
This lawsuit is still being appealed, so a higher court could later change this ruling and require sentencing to be recalculated again. In the meantime, any victim, as defined in KRS 421.500, who has requested notification of the release of a particular inmate and has provided the Department of Corrections with a current mailing address and telephone number will be notified before the inmate's release and of upcoming parole hearings.
Additionally, any individual who has registered to receive VINE notifications for that inmate will also receive an alert.