LET ME LOOSE, I’M REFORMED?
INCLUDING 15 LOCAL EASTERN KENTUCKY STATE PRISON CRIMINALS
LEGAL ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO FRANKLIN CIRCUIT COURT RULING THAT OPENED UP THE POTENTIAL FOR MAJOR RELEASES OF CRIMINALS ACROSS THE STATE
MARCH 10, 2026 – written by WADE QUEEN
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15 LOCAL OF OUT THE 240+ STATE PRISON INMATES NOW ELIGIBLE FOR RELEASE BECAUSE OF A LOCAL COURT RULING, LEADING TO KENTUCKY ATTORNEY GENERAL TO FILE AN APPEAL WITH STATE COURT OF APPEALS.
At issue is a portion of the Safer Kentucky Act, passed by the General Assembly in 2024 that was struck down by a Franklin Circuit judge last month. The measure broadened the offenses that would classify someone as a violent offender.
That matters because under Kentucky law, violent offenders must serve at least 85 percent of their sentences, whereas other offenders are eligible for parole after serving 20 percent of their sentences.
After the measure was struck down, Coleman went back to court to ask for a delay in implementing the order while the case was appealed. The judge denied that request.
Now, unless the Court of Appeals intervenes, more than 240 inmates previously classified as violent offenders could be released from prison.
Local inmates potentially affected by the change include:
FLOYD COUNTY
- Jonathan Fannin: first-degree sexual abuse
- William Hall: first-degree strangulation and first-degree criminal abuse
- Kathy Salyer: second-degree sodomy
JOHNSON COUNTY
- Angel Gipson: first-degree strangulation
- Sierra Meagher: first-degree burglary
LETCHER COUNTY
- Mark Caudill: second-degree assault, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse
- Robert Meade: first-degree sexual abuse
MAGOFFIN COUNTY
- Jeremy Garner: first-degree strangulation
MARTIN COUNTY
- Austin Jackson: two counts of second-degree rape
- John Perry: first-degree sexual abuse
MORGAN COUNTY
- Jonnie Doolin: third-degree rape, third-degree sodomy
- Mark Gibson: first-degree sexual abuse
- Cody Haney: reckless homicide
- Gregory Osborne: attempted murder, first-degree strangulation
- Bryan Tolson: first-degree sexual abuse, second-degree rape
