Logan’s Law took its first step toward becoming law on Wednesday, as the House Judiciary Committee approved House Bill 422, or Logan’s Law, after hearing directly from Logan Tipton’s father Dean Tipton on the importance of the bill.
The measure’s main co-sponsors are by Rep. Daniel Fister, R-Versailles, and Rep. T.J. Roberts, R-Burlington,
Logan was six years old when Ronald Exantus broke into the Tiptons’ Versailles home and stabbed Logan to death in his bed in 2015, Fister said. A jury later found Exantus not guilty by reason of insanity for Logan’s murder, but did convict Exantus for violently assaulting Tipton and his daughters.
After Kentucky state law permitted Exantus to be released from prison last year, a decade early, Fister, Roberts and more than 60 other House lawmakers decided a change is needed to protect the public and ensure justice for future victims.
Tipton told the committee HB 422 is about accountability and protecting people from suffering the way he and his family have.
“The only thing that I find insane in this whole thing is the fact that in a matter of seconds, he was found innocent by reason of insanity on the murder of my son, but found guilty on the stabbings of my other daughters and myself,” Tipton said. “That is insane. That is not right.”
Fister said HB 422 “brings sanity to the insanity statute.”
An original version of the bill sought to remove the option of an insanity plea from state law entirely, but a new version reforms the law instead of outlawing it, Roberts said. He described Kentucky’s current definition of insanity as loose and confusing.
“The insanity defense would be amended now to make it to where the individual, as a result of a mental illness or intellectual disability, is not capable of appreciating the nature of their actions,” Roberts added. “In other words, they were so insane, they simply did not know what they were doing.”
HB 422 would also ensure if the parole board unanimously denies parole to someone convicted of a violent felony, that individual would not be eligible for early release.
The measure now heads to the House floor.
From left: Rep. Daniel Fister, R-Versailles, Dean Tipton (father of Logan Tipton) and Rep. T.J. Roberts, R-Burlington, testifying in committee. (LRC photo)
- Andrew West
