Kentucky legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Kentucky HB163: AN ACT relating to aggravating circumstances.
Status: In committee, January 14, 2026
Amend KRS 532.025 to include abuse of a corpse of the victim of kidnapping or murder by engaging in deviate sexual intercourse, sexual intercourse, or sexual contact as an aggravating circumstance; provide that the Act may be cited as Angela's Law.
What the bill says
An act relating to aggravating circumstances.
From the introduced text:
AN ACT relating to aggravating circumstances. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: Section 1. KRS 532.025 is amended to read as follows: (1) (a) Upon conviction of a defendant in cases where the death penalty may be imposed, a hearing shall be conducted. In such hearing, the judge shall hear additional evidence in extenuation, mitigation, and aggravation of punishment, including the record of any prior criminal convictions and pleas of guilty or pleas of nolo contendere of the defendant, or the absence of any prior conviction and pleas; provided, however, that only such evidence in aggravation as the state has made known to the defendant prior to his or her trial shall be admissible. Subject to the Kentucky Rules of Evidence, juvenile court records of adjudications of guilt of a child for an offense that would be a felony if committed by an adult shall be admissible in court at any time the child is tried as an adult, or after the child becomes an adult, at any subsequent criminal trial relating to that same person. Juvenile court records made available pursuant to this section may be used for impeachment purposes during a criminal trial and may be used during the sentencing phase of a criminal trial; however, the fact that a juvenile has …
Sponsors
- Samara Heavrin (R, HD-018) · primary sponsor
Latest actions
- : to Judiciary (H)
- : to Committee on Committees (H)
- : introduced in House
Subjects: Short Titles And Popular Names, Crimes And Punishments, Crime Victims, Corrections Impact
Common questions
- What is HB163?
- HB163 is a bill in the Kentucky Legislature (2026 Regular Session): AN ACT relating to aggravating circumstances.
- What does HB163 do?
- In its own words: An act relating to aggravating circumstances.
- What is the status of HB163?
- In committee as of January 14, 2026. Latest action: to Judiciary (H) (January 14, 2026).
- Who sponsored HB163?
- Samara Heavrin (R, HD-018).
- Where is the official record for HB163?
- On the Kentucky Legislature website: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26rs/hb163.html
Source: official Kentucky record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.