FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 9, 2026) – Pursuant to state laws passed by Kentucky’s General Assembly, Ronald Exantus will have served the sentence issued by the Woodford Circuit Court and is scheduled to be released from Department of Corrections custody on July 29. The Kentucky Parole Board is not releasing Exantus, and he is not being released early.
On Nov. 20, 2025, the Kentucky Parole Board conducted a file review on Exantus and revoked his Mandatory Reentry Supervision following a supervision violation in Florida, ordering him to remain incarcerated. The Kentucky Offender Online Lookup was updated in November with Exantus’s new minimum expiration date of July 29, and that date has not changed since the board issued its decision.
Juries and courts, not the Department of Corrections, determine if an individual is guilty of a crime and how long he or she must serve.
The Department strictly calculates sentences in accordance with Kentucky statutes and the final judgments entered by the sentencing courts. This includes the application of sentencing credits as outlined in KRS 197.045, 197.047, 197.175 and 532.120. The Department must apply these credits once the inmate has earned them. Therefore, the minimum expiration of sentence date is the date an inmate will be released. This applies to all inmates, including Exantus. As of today, Exantus has served 11 years, 9 months, and 18 days.
The Parole Board has never released Exantus on parole. Each time it has had the opportunity, the Parole Board has recommended that Exantus stay in prison. A copy of those previous decisions can be found here.
As part of the Department’s preparations for Exantus’s release, on June 5, 2026, the general counsel for the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet contacted Chief Circuit Judge Jeremy Mattox, Commonwealth’s Attorney Kelli Kearney, and Department of Public Advocacy Directing Attorney Josh Miller to give them an opportunity to begin involuntary hospitalization procedures pursuant to KRS 504.030 and KRS 202A: copy of letter.
The Department of Corrections does not have authority to initiate proceedings under KRS Chapter 202A or 202B, nor to maintain custody beyond the expiration of a valid sentence. In other words, unless a detainer or other lawful authority is lodged prior to Exantus’s release date, the Department will be required to release him on July 29 in accordance with applicable law.
As previously stated, Kentucky law (KRS 439.3406) required the Department of Corrections to release Exantus on Mandatory Reentry Supervision on Oct. 1. Per KRS 439.561, Exantus requested and was accepted by the state of Florida to serve his Mandatory Reentry Supervision there, in accordance with the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision. He was arrested in Marion County, Florida, on Oct. 12 for failing to register as a convicted felon as outlined in his supervision conditions. A member of the Florida Commission on Offender Review held a probable cause hearing and ordered Exantus to be transported back to Kentucky. Exantus returned to Kentucky on Oct. 29 and has been incarcerated at the Kentucky State Reformatory since that time.
The Parole Board’s decision in November came after Exantus admitted to violating the conditions of his supervision. The Board determined per KRS 439.3106(1) that the offender’s failure to comply with the conditions of supervision constituted a significant risk to prior victims or the community at large and that the offender could not be appropriately managed in the community.
For more information visit: https://justice.ky.gov/Boards-Commissions/pb/Pages/default.aspx.
In November of last year, the Beshear administration took steps to address mandatory reentry supervision by signing emergency regulations limiting the amount of sentencing credit inmates can accrue after violating mandatory reentry supervision conditions. These regulations ensure that inmates who violate the terms of their release will not be eligible for an additional reduction of time. This applied to Exantus, and upon violating his supervision conditions and returning to custody, he did not accrue any additional sentencing credits.
Additionally, on April 2, 2026, Gov. Beshear signed into law House Bill 422, known as “Logan’s Law,” which strengthens Kentucky's criminal justice laws by modifying who is excluded from mandatory reentry supervision, revising the mental illness and intellectual disability defense and prohibiting juries from finding a defendant guilty of one count but not guilty by reason of mental illness on another. This law does not apply to Exantus as he was found guilty and convicted before the bill was passed.
In 2018, a jury found Exantus guilty but mentally ill on two counts of second-degree assault and one count of fourth-degree assault but not guilty by reason of insanity on one count of murder and one count of first-degree burglary. Additional information pertaining to Exantus’s conviction can be found on the Kentucky Offender Online Lookup: http://kool.corrections.ky.gov/.
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