Request By:
Mr. Tete Turner, Jr.
Fiscal Director/
County Coordinator
Campbell County Fiscal Court
24 W. Fourth Street
P.O. Box 340
Newport, Kentucky 41072
Opinion
Opinion By: David L. Armstrong, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
The questions of authority of a county judge executive are raised in your letter, which reads:
"Does the County Judge/Executive have the power to:
a) Commute or alter a sentenced inmate who has been convicted in Circuit or District Court and
b) Award good time under specific guidelines adopted by the Fiscal Court to those deserving inmates who have been convicted in District Court?"
We pointed out in OAG 84-15 that the county judge executive has no authority to parole misdemeanants, regardless of whether convicted in the district or circuit court. Likewise, he has no authority to parole defendants convicted in the circuit court of a felony.
The power to commute or alter a sentence is exclusively the prerogative of the governor. Commonwealth v. Minor, 195 Ky. 103, 241 S.W. 856 (1922) 859. A commutation is a change or alteration of punishment. Chapman v. Scott, D.C. Conn., 10 F.2d 156, 159 (1925). See § 77, Kentucky Constitution, which gives the governor of Kentucky the exclusive prerogative of commuting sentences.
Thus a county judge executive has no authority to commute the sentence of any defendant, including a misdemeanant or felon.
Next, you ask whether a county judge executive has the authority to award good time to misdemeanants convicted in the district court.
KRS 441.125 provides for working of prisoners at community service related projects. This includes working for a county. It confers no private benefit on the defendant except as may be incidental to the public benefit. However, there is no "good time" feature to it, as relates to the original sentence.
KRS 197.045 provides for credit on a sentence for good conduct or meritorious service. It relates to convicted felons in a state penal institution. The Secretary of the Corrections Cabinet administers the statute, pursuant to KRS 196.070. See Ivey v. Wilson, (U.S.D.C. W.D. Ky. - 1983) 577 F. Supp. 169,174. However, we are not aware of any good time provisions for misdemeanants administered by county judge executives.