Kentucky lawmakers vote to put limits on death penalty

Kentucky would make the death penalty off-limits for some defendants diagnosed with severe mental illnesses under a bill that won final legislative approval.

The Senate sent the measure to Gov. Andy Beshear Friday. It caps an effort by death penalty opponents to put limits on the use of capital punishment.

Under the bill, the death penalty ban would apply to defendants with a documented history — including a diagnosis from a mental health professional — of certain mental disorders and who had active symptoms at the time of the offense.

Disorders include schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder and delusional disorder.