Decision Could Move White Closer to Execution

A courtroom full of onlookers heard arguments in the Frankin Circuit Court on Monday that could move a convicted Breathitt County murderer closer to execution.

Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman requested clarification from Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd to determine whether his court had jurisdiction to approve or halt the execution of Ralph Baze.

In 1992, Baze shot and killed Powell County Sheriff Steve Bennett and deputy Arthur Briscoe while they were serving a warrant.  He was sentenced to death and placed on death row in 1994.

He was originally scheduled for execution on September 25, 2007, but Baze sued to stop the process, saying the “cocktail of drugs” used by the state amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment.”  The United States Supreme Court ruled that the chemical mixture approved for use in Kentucky “does not violate the Eighth Amendment.”

Attorney General Coleman requested that Governor Andy Beshear authorize the execution in June 2025 by signing the death warrant.  Beshear has refused, citing the 2010 court decision suspending lethal injections in Kentucky.  Earlier in 2025, a judge announced that the 2010 decision specifically addressed the Gregory Wilson case and did not have a bearing on the Baze execution.

Baze is currently the next scheduled execution in Kentucky.  Second in line is convicted Breathitt County murderer Karu Gene White.

White was sentenced to death by a Powell County jury in March 1980 following the February 12, 1979, murders of three elderly Breathitt County residents at Haddix.  White and two others robbed and beat Charlie Gross, his wife, Lola Gross, and brother-in-law, Sam Chaney, to death in their store at Fish Pond.

In March 2025, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals denied White’s last appeal in his long and twisting battle to set aside his case.  The decision removed Whites' last opportunity to avoid lethal injection when and if Kentucky resumes executions.

Attorney General Coleman received numerous statements of support for his efforts from law enforcement and elected officials from across the state, including Breathitt County Sheriff John Hollan and State Senator Brandon Smith.

An official from Beshear’s office informed the court on Monday that Kentucky does not currently have the necessary medication to conduct the execution and may not be able to obtain it.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Judge Shepherd told attorneys that he hoped to move the Baze case forward “quickly” and planned to deliver his decision soon.

Until then, the twenty-four men and one woman who are on Kentucky’s Death Row are awaiting his decision, which could determine their scheduled dates with jury-applied justice.