Capital punishment in Kentucky
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Despite remaining a legal penalty, there have been no executions in Kentucky since 2008, and only three since 1976. The most recent execution was of Marco Allen Chapman, who was executed for two murders. Legal process. When the Commonwealth's Attorney seeks the death penalty, the sentence is decided by the jury and must be unanimous. Kentucky is the only state without provision on what happens if the penalty phase of the trial results in a hung jury. Thus, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled  that in cases that end with a hung jury, the judge must order a penalty retrial, applying the common law rule for mistrial. All sentences of death are automatically appealed to the Kentucky Supreme Court. Death sentences shall, in theory, be carried out on the fifth Friday following the affirmation of the sentence by the Supreme Court. However, if the sentence is not carried out because of stays or any other reason, the governor may appoint another day of execution and may continue to do so until the sentence is carried into effect. The governor also has the sole power  of clemency with respect to death sentences. Among Kentucky death row inmates is Ralph Baze, who unsuccessfully challenged Kentucky lethal injection protocol before the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2008 case "Baze v. Rees", which caused the staying of all executions in the entire United States between September 2007 and April 2008. Baze was sentenced to death for murdering Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and Deputy Arthur Briscoe in 1992. The state is now trying to pass a law that would raise the minimum age of offenders eligible for the death penalty to 21 years of age at the time  of their crimes. Capital crimes. The aggravating factors making murder, kidnapping, or armed robbery punishable by death are the following: Some of these aggravated factors apply to the offenses of armed robbery and kidnapping. However, the death penalty for these offenses is no longer allowed, as they have been declared unconstitutional since the 2008 U.S. Supreme Court case Kennedy v. Louisiana. Location and method. The Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville houses all of Kentucky's male death row inmates. Female death row inmates are housed at the Kentucky Correctional Institute for Women in unincorporated Shelby County, near Pewee Valley. All  executions occur at the Kentucky State Penitentiary. The method of execution is lethal injection, but a prisoner condemned before March 31, 1998, may choose to be electrocuted instead. Electrocution is also authorized in the event that lethal injection is found unconstitutional by a court.