Citing the early release of a child killer that sparked local and national outrage, Kentucky lawmakers filed legislation Tuesday that would eliminate the insanity defense.
Ronald Exantus drove from Indianapolis to Versailles and killed 6-year-old Logan Tipton with a butcher knife in 2015. The jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity. However, they also found him“guilty but mentally ill” of assaulting the child’s family members.
Exantus, who admitted to the killing, was sentenced to 20 years, but released with less than half of his sentence served under the state’s mandatory re-entry supervision law.
Tipton’s parents joined a cohort of lawmakers Tuesday to call for passage of the bill, saying no one was held accountable for their son’s death because Exantus was found not guilty for killing Logan. Dean Tipton said they worked directly with the bill’s sponsors, GOP Rep. Dan Fister of Versailles and Rep. TJ Roberts of Burlington.
“The time needs to fit the crime, and there has to be accountability,” said Dean Tipton, Logan’s father. “As far as Logan is there will never be accountability for his death, and if we can save one family from that feeling, then we've done our job.”
Roberts said the bill maintains the option for juries to find a person “guilty but mentally ill.” The legislation also limits those who are eligible for the mandatory re-entry supervision program to exclude people with lower-level felony convictions and those whom the parole board unanimously votes against — as was the case for Exantus. It would also require those convicted of two or more capital offenses, higher-level felonies or violent crimes involving more than one victim serve those sentences consecutively, not concurrently.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that states may abandon the defense for accused people who argue they didn’t know right from wrong when they committed the crime. Four states have already practically abolished the defense — Idaho, Utah, Montana and Kansas.
“Our bill drafter looked through the law to make sure that what we were doing could ensure that those who commit these acts as a result of mental illness can get the help that they need and still face accountability for the actions that they have done,” Roberts said.
Exantus was also eligible to reduce his sentence in other ways, like through good behavior, which offenders classified as “violent” aren’t able to make use of. Because he was convicted of second- and fourth-degree assault, he did not have to serve 85% of his sentence, as violent offenders are required to do.
Exantus’ release caused uproar, not just in the state, but also among national conservative activists and the White House. Matt Walsh, a right-wing political commentator, posted on X that his early release was “one of the most heinous miscarriages of justice in American history.” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt tacked on that the White House would look into the matter and called it “wholly unacceptable.”
The outcry also led to threats to the Kentucky Parole Board members — all of whom voted not to release Exantus. The Kentucky State Police said in a release that members have "received repeated threats from the public” due to misinformation about their role in the man’s release.
Exantus has since been rearrested and is back in Kentucky state custody, according to a news release. He will be re-released later this year.
