Landmark Case Involving Same-Sex Marriage Underway In KY

In Louisville, a woman is accused of killing a man. She said she was defending herself as he raped her.

She’s married and wants to block her spouse from testifying–under Kentucky law, a spouse can refuse to testify in court.

However, the ‘spouse’ in this case is another woman. The two were married in Vermont.

Since same-sex marriage is illegal in Kentucky, prosecutors said the spousal privilege law doesn’t cover them.

"Under Kentucky law, a husband or a wife can refuse to testify against the other in court. Our position is that Kentucky law of the husband and wife privilege does not apply to a same sex couple," said Stacy Grieve, Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney.

"Only because she’s married to a woman instead, they want to use that information to strap her to a gurney, to pump poison into her veins and kill her. We say that’s not fair," said defending attorney Angela Ellerman.

A hearing on this is planned for the end of July.