Advocates for mentally ill in Kentucky are lobbying to make those with serious mental illness ineligible for the death penalty. Kentucky representatives for the National Alliance on Mental Illness staged a rally Thursday in Frankfort.
Louisville Senator Julie Raque Adams is sponsoring the measure related to capital punishment. “I think when you enter in that caveat of severe mental illness, then it should be an easy vote for a lot of people,” said Raque Adams.
Legislation seeking abolishment of the death penalty entirely has been filed in the Kentucky general assembly for years. It has been heard in committee previously, but not made it to either floor of the legislature
A longtime advocate for mental health services worries proposed pension reforms could prove too burdensome for the state’s community mental health centers.
Under previously suggested pension reforms, Kelly Gunning with Lexington NAMI says 85 percent of community mental health center payroll would go to meet retirement obligations. “What we have here is a system already so strained by the near 50 percent mandated track that they take for the retirement system now, they won’t survive,” said Gunning.
Gunning agrees with Gov. Matt Bevin’s call for additional revenue and his recommended 34 million dollars to address opioid addiction issues. But, she says recommended state funding levels for mental health services remain an ongoing concern.
