More teens would be tried in adult courts for gun offenses under Kentucky bill winning final passage

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A bill intended to combat teen crime by transferring more youths for trial in adult courts when charged with gun-related gun offenses won final passage in the Kentucky legislature on Wednesday.

The Senate voted 24-10 to sent the bill to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear after accepting changes made by the House. The measure — Senate Bill 20 — is part of a broader push this year by the Republican-dominated legislature to toughen many penalties in the state’s criminal code.

Under the bill, youths would be transferred to circuit court for trial as adults — where they could face harsher penalties — when charged with serious felony offenses and if they used a gun when allegedly committing the crime. The measure would apply to youths 15 years old and up.

Republican state Sen. Matthew Deneen, the bill’s lead sponsor, has said the changes would ensure that “the time fits the crime” for gun-related offenses committed by teens. Deneen has said that many of the victims of teen gun violence are other teens.

The measure would roll back a criminal-justice policy enacted three years ago in Kentucky.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Media attorney warns advancing bill would create ‘giant loophole’ in Kentucky’s open records law </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> School board postpones vote on new busing plan after audit on route change disaster </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Kentucky House passes bill