For Immediate Release
December 1, 1997
Contact: Melissa Forsythe at
(502) 564-2611

Governor Patton Receives Criminal Justice Response Team Report

Governor Paul Patton today accepted the final report of the Criminal Justice Response Team, with recommendations for changes in Kentucky’s criminal justice system. U.S. Attorney General Mike Troop, delivering the formal report, thanked the governor for the opportunity to conduct the first comprehensive review of the state’s criminal justice system in over 20 years. Troop said the response team spent about one thousand hours over the last four months working on the report. "We believe it was time well spent. Although we know there is more to be done, we hope this report is useful to you, as the chief executive of this state, in planning for the betterment of Kentucky’s criminal justice system," Troop said.

Governor Patton thanked the response team for its work, and said he will consider each of the approximately 150 recommendations seriously. "Being able to feel safe and secure wherever you are is fundamental to enjoying the freedoms that the country ought to offer," the governor said. "The first responsibility of the government is to protect the safety and the property of its citizens." He said we must be prepared to isolate violent people from society and have effective incarceration programs as punishment. But he said more is needed. Governor Patton told reporters he had just been informed by Kentucky State Police of the shootings at Heath High School in Paducah. "That’s a very sobering thing. What is it in our society that causes things like this to happen?" he asked. "It really is a mystery, that so many of our people are resorting to totally illogical actions to resolve disagreements. My understanding is the individual’s in custody, it would be appear to be a totally irrational act, and that individual’s life is destroyed too. "

Governor Patton said he anticipates the report from the Criminal Justice Response Team will form the basis for a major crime legislation package, once the costs, benefits, and resources available are calculated. The governor has not yet read the report.

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