Young v. Commonwealth

From the time that Kentucky first adopted bifurcated Truth-in-Sentencing procedures for felony criminal trials, issues began cropping up about the type and extent of parole information a jury should receive prior to making its sentencing decision. It is beyond dispute, however, that in our eighteen (18) years of experience under Truth-in-Sentencing, we have concluded that the possibility that a defendant might receive an early release from prison is a relevant factor in a jury’s sentencing determination. After all, we have permitted the introduction of evidence relating to parole…