KY lawmaker to file legislation after early release of man who killed child
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Rep. T.J. Roberts will file legislation to abolish Kentucky mandatory supervised release
- The law allowed Ronald Exantus's early parole after earning good time and program credits
- Roberts will also propose limits on insanity pleas and tighter oversight of verdict splits
A Kentucky lawmaker says he will file legislation in response to a man who killed a child but was released from prison this month after serving less than half of his 20-year sentence.
Rep. TJ Roberts, R-Burlington, said he hopes to abolish mandatory supervised release in the 2026 General Assembly, which begins in January.
The Kentucky law supporting mandatory supervised release has become a major national talking point recently, as it allowed a man who stabbed a 6-year-old boy to death 10 years ago in Woodford County to be released early from prison.
Ronald Exantus, 42, was released from prison Oct. 1 after serving nine years, nine months and 25 days of his 20-year prison sentence for assaulting the sisters and father of 6-year-old Logan Tipton.
On Dec. 7, 2015, Exantus drove from Indiana to Kentucky and broke into the Tiptons’ unlocked home on Douglas Avenue. He had never been in the Versailles neighborhood before, and he did not know the Tipton family, according to court documents.
At his trial, a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity on a murder charge for Logan’s stabbing death, absolving him of criminal responsibility for the offense.
While incarcerated for the assault offenses, Exantus earned good-behavior time credits and participated in multiple educational and work programs, which cut time off the back end of his sentence. His initial expected release date was 2035 at the time of sentencing in 2018, but the time served credits reduced his expected release date to June 2026.
Roberts said Exantus’ release is a “gross miscarriage of justice” and endangers Kentucky families.
“Exantus should rot in prison for life for butchering a child and terrorizing his family — his release is an insult to victims everywhere,” Roberts said in an Oct. 9 post on X. “A program that automatically paroles violent killers like this has no place in Kentucky.”
Mandatory supervised release, a Kentucky law that took effect in 2012, is granted to qualified inmates who are within six months of their estimated sentence completion date. Inmates on mandatory supervised release are considered to be on parole and can be sent back to prison for violating the terms of the release.
Gov. Andy Beshear was asked about the law during his weekly news conference on Thursday, and said he’d be willing to work with the state legislature on potential bills.
“I do think that this, especially given this situation, is something that we can, and we should look into,” Beshear said. “I hear several legislators are saying the same thing.
Roberts said he also plans to file legislation to address insanity pleas.
To be found not guilty by reason of insanity, as Exantus was, a defendant must suffer from such a severe mental illness at the time of a crime that they do not know right from wrong or cannot conform their conduct to the law.
“Insanity pleas shouldn’t act like a get-out-of-jail-free card, allowing a split verdict where he was found guilty of lesser charges but not the more serious ones,” Roberts said.
Exantus’ release drew the attention of the White House, including press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said it was “wholly unacceptable,” and Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, who called it a tragedy.
This story was originally published October 9, 2025 at 1:58 PM.
