Family reunification, violence prevention and workforce development have kept formerly incarcerated Kentuckians out of returning to prison.

2 wrongful death lawsuits were filed this month against the Madison Co. jail. The 1st lawsuit was filed on behalf of a stillborn baby, listed as 'Babygirl Frymyer.' Her mother went into labor after the jail denied her medication, the lawsuit says. 🧵 www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

One of Kentucky’s largest for-profit residential addiction care treatment providers, which has been the subject of an FBI investigation for more than a year, is being sold, administrators confirmed Wednesday. New from @aacquisto.bsky.social & @taylorsixhl.bsky.social:

Everybody clap for @aacquisto.bsky.social & @taylorsixhl.bsky.social!!

Kentucky’s highest court has reversed Lexington’s ban on no-knock warrants, ruling that a city ordinance banning their use directly conflicts with state law. The city has not officially commented on the ruling. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

Fight heats up over proposed KY power line. Residents, Berea College oppose plan Some opponents believe the line could impact drinking water and the college forest www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

DEA agents discover torture chamber, human bone, drugs in KY home Feds were executing a drug-related search warrant in Laurel Co. when they smelled an odor similar to a decaying corpse. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

Very excited to be chosen as a 2025 Fellow for Journalism Law School at Loyola Marymount. Next week, I will participate in classes to learn more about Constitutional Law, Civil Law, evidence and Criminal Law - to name a few. lls.edu/JLSfellows

The FBI say they know who killed a federal witness in a 2023 homicide. No charges have been filed against them. Police and attorneys would not comment why. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

So proud of this great piece by our friend and advisory board member @lucas-matt-marsh.bsky.social: www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...

Jurors in the Brooks Houck trial went out for deliberations Tuesday morning. They heard all-day closing statements Monday. Here's a recap of what attorneys said for their case: www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

Today is DAY 4 of the trial which has had it's share of new, explosive testimony. Not only did a witness say she heard the Lawsons discuss moving a body, but cell phone forensics show Houck wasn't where he said he was the day of Rogers disapperance. 🧵 www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

“If you look from a sinister view, you will get a sinister answer." Brooks Houck's attorney says police based their case on "assumptions, guesses and theories," & faced media publicity/ pressure that rushed them to solve her case. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

A Rowan Co. murder case spanning 15 yrs has had major changes in key players, prolonging it's resolution. “You almost never talk to the same people twice. It’s like Groundhog Day — it’s a new day with new people, but the same case and same result.” www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

NEW: The unsolved killing of a federal witness 2 yrs ago in Lexington was a “targeted assassination” by a criminal street gang, according to new court docs. The docs were released as part of detention order for a man based on his ties to a Lexington gang. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

ICYMI: A guilty verdict and proposed jury sentence of life-in-prison was reinstated for a Lexington father convicted of killing his son in 2018. Previously, a judge ordered a retrial citing "prosecutorial misconduct." A court of appeals disagreed. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

The @journalistsrn.bsky.social now has a Slack channel! In here, other journos in recovery share: ⭐ Personal/professional victories ⭐ Information about upcoming events ⭐ Informal support for our peers Email us at [email protected] to request to join!

NEW: Just 5 months after a consent decree was announced with the Louisville police, the feds announced it would be dismissed. The consent decree and lawsuit aimed to reform the troubled LMPD - and was the result of a years-long investigation by the DOJ. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

NEW: Jefferson Co. Judge Mitch Perry ruled Monday a federal law that grants broad immunity to gun manufacturers does not prohibit a lawsuit filed by victims in the Old National Bank shooting from proceeding in court. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

NEW: An analysis of emergency declarations shows Beshear has made more than three weather declarations per year since taking office, as severe weather has killed more than 150 people in Kentucky. www.kentucky.com/news/weather...

NEW: A preliminary investigation of Saturday morning's tornado shows a possible EF-2 level of damage in Russell Co, according to the NWS. Crews will continue to address damage in Laurel Co. Sunday and into Monday. www.kentucky.com/news/weather...

A deacon convinced nuns from a convent outside Waco to meet the women on Texas’s death row. They went “thinking we were going to minister to these women,” the sisters said, after their first visit. “And oh, my goodness, they ministered to us.”

Today, the @journalistsrn.bsky.social turns 1. It's an exciting milestone, as I never could have anticipated how much I would learn, & the impact we would have in a short year. We've grown and aspire to continue that growth. But I am thankful for all the support thus far. 🧵

ICYMI: May is approaching fast, so here is the April courts and crime roundup of cases the Herald-Leader previously covered that had new developments. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

Federal funding cuts pose a risk to KY programs & the "boots on the ground" intervention initiatives that help Kentuckians in active use. I spoke with state & local partners about what the future holds. www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

Kentucky has worked hard to slow its addiction problems. Federal cuts threaten that progress. Important story from @taylorsixhl.bsky.social

NEW from Chris Leach: A Lexington murder suspect is facing new charges after he allegedly stabbed another inmate at FCDC nearly 8 times. Phillip McElroy is one of two suspects charged with the death of 24-year-old Tai’ Maricus Warner on March 11. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

ONE WEEK FROM TODAY! 📅 Join the @journalistsrn.bsky.social to celebrate our 1-year birthday & get to know us in our first virtual event. ⭐ The event will be an informal conversation to get to know our advisors. ⭐ The event is ANONYMOUS, and open to any journalist in recovery.

NEW: Another set of Lexington restaurants are facing allegations of wage and tip theft in a federal lawsuit. The owner acknowledged these lawsuits have become a "frequent trend." www.kentucky.com/lexgoeat/res...

ICYMI: KY Supreme Court is considering a case that could reverse a decision on a no-knock warrant ban in Lexington. The case involves the city of Lexington and the local FOP lodge. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

JRN is celebrating its first birthday with its first-ever community discussion on April 30—an opportunity for people interested in our mission to give us feedback on the services and support they'd like us to provide. Info is below and we look forward to a rewarding discussion.

NEW: At least one UK student-athlete is believed to be a victim of a data breach and cyber assault of Matt Weiss, ex-asst football coach at the University of Michigan and Baltimore Ravens, who was indicted last week. There could be more, attorneys say. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

Follow live updates from @monica_kast and myself about flooding continuing across the state Sunday. Everyone stay safe! www.kentucky.com/news/weather...

NEW: I spent the morning in Frankfort as some were boarding up their businesses, and others were out taking photos. Nearly non-stop rainfall for multiple days brought the river to nearly 50 ft, with an expected crest at 49.5 ft at 8 a.m. Monday. www.kentucky.com/news/weather...

NEW: An asst. Fayette Co. attorney photographed a nude woman getting a spray tan across the street from the county attorney’s office without the woman’s consent, according to a lawsuit. The woman contacted LPD, but they declined to pursue the complaint. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

NEW: The KY Supreme Court declined to hear the case against Georgetown police for a 2017 traffic stop that resulted in a man's death. The family feels there is no accountability for how officers treat those who are cognitively impaired. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

NEW: Beshear joined 22 other state officials in a federal lawsuit, filed in response to an announcement last week that Pres. Trump’s administration was pulling funds related to COVID-19 initiatives. www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

NEW: Prosecutors handling the death investigation of missing Bardstown mother Crystal Rogers are asking the court to order testing be done on two hairs found inside Rogers’ vehicle in 2016. KSP formerly said the hairs did not appear to match Rogers. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

Kentucky is among the ‘most federally dependent states.’ How will Trump cuts affect it? www.kentucky.com/news/state/kentucky/article302508724.html#storylink=cpy

NEW: Wellpath, KY's health care provider for all 14 prisons, declared bankruptcy late last year. When people went to settle for wrongful death or negligence claims - it was found Wellpath's insurance was a "front." Some are calling it fraud. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

A Lexington judge on Tuesday dismissed one of two charges against a man accused of involvement in a homicide earlier this year. Jeffrey Ollie, 22, is one of three suspects charged in connection with the death of Daievyon Elliott, 27. Read more at: www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

ICYMI: KY’s longest-held death row inmate will remain there after a court upheld his sentence of capital punishment from more than 40 years ago. KY has not executed anyone since 2008. There are currently 25 people on death row in the commonwealth. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

UofL and UK, the commonwealth’s largest universities, have the most appeals filed related to records. Together, they account for 111/156 appeals filed from 2012-2024. From @monicakast.bsky.social and @kendallstaton.bsky.social: www.kentucky.com/news/local/e...

NEW: Bluegrass Hospitality Group - the owner of several popular Lexington restaurant chains - has agreed to pay millions as part of a class action settlement that alleged tip and wage theft. www.kentucky.com/lexgoeat/res...

New: A KY prosecutor is asking for the state’s highest court to disqualify a judge from all criminal cases in the judge’s circuit after the judge claimed he had a personal bias against her. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

After years of refusals, Republicans move to add medical exceptions to KY abortion ban www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

A fatal shooting took place around midnight Tues. morning on Ohio St. Just 12 hours before, a 19-yr-old was killed after a shooting on River Park Drive. The Ohio St. shooting makes for the third homicide in a week's span. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

Lexington police put out a press release for a murder suspect saying she was 'armed and dangerous.' But her attorney said they had reported to police the woman had plans to turn herself in on Wednesday. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

Two brothers who were accused of fatally shooting a woman in Lexington last September have been released from jail after their charges were dropped Monday, according to court records. A grand jury declined to indict them. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...

ICYMI: Here are the 5 key takeaways from my investigation and reporting on KY's jail deaths between over the past five years. www.kentucky.com/news/local/c...