Attorney General asks court to compel Beshear to sign death warrant for Ralph Baze

FRANKFORT, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman is asking a court to intervene after Governor Andy Beshear declined to sign a death warrant for Ralph Baze, the man convicted of killing two Powell County law enforcement officers more than 30 years ago.

Coleman argues that the Governor’s interpretation of a 2010 court order is incorrect and that Beshear is legally obligated to proceed with the warrant, delivering long-delayed justice for the families of Sheriff Steve Bennett and Deputy Arthur Briscoe.

The Attorney General’s office filed a motion in Franklin Circuit Court seeking clarification of the Governor’s duty in the case and urging the judiciary to end the decades-long wait for the victims’ families.

Governor Beshear has not commented on the filing.