Currently the longest continuously incarcerated woman in the state of Kentucky....since before...
Locked up since before 9/11 terrorist attacks...International Space Station...Chernobyl...Google...the worldwide web...Oprah became nationwide...release of Nintendo Game System...WNBA...Surgeon General released tobacco was addictive...before Michael Jordan became NBA Rookie of the Year...Berlin Wall came down...US Senate allowed TV debates...Menendez Bros, OJ Simpson, Jeffrey Dahmer, Columbine, Waco, Oklahoma City bombing...
Ky Free Karen Brown #003554
Welcome to team kb!
We are currently planning a letter writing campaign to flood Governor Beshear with letters of support for Karen to have her sentence commuted and finally be able to bring her home where she belongs! Our Goal is to send letters to:
Governor Beshear
501 High st 2nd floor
Frankfort, KY 40602
Need help getting started with letter? Click here for sample format.
Karen's final words at KY Parole Board hearing in which she received a serve-out. January 26, 2021
Kentucky Parole Board Hearing in its entirety in which Karen received her serve-out. January 26, 2021
Here is a video of a meaningful song Karen performed within the past year with her ministry @ KCIW while sharing a host of slides relevant to her journey. Powerful & moving! The first time I listened to this I found the first few lines very haunting as I had become more acquainted with her the year prior to her incarceration. I knew first-hand what she was like then to what she's like now, always with a kind heart though. "I'm living proof...of what the mercy of God can do...If you knew me then, you'd believe me now...He turned my whole life upside down...He took the old and He made it new. That 's just what the mercy of God can do...Now I'm alive to tell the story how I've overcome. It's the His goodness and mercy and the power of his blood..."
The #KyFreeKarenBrown is a nationwide growing movement to advocate for the commutation of Karen Brown who is currently the longest continuously incarcerated woman in the State of Kentucky. Karen Brown was convicted of capital murder for her part in a 1986 'murder-for-hire' plot of Michael Turpin. A plot unbeknownst to her and a victim of the killer herself, she was present for a very traumatic tragedy that changed the course of many lives, including her own, in one single night.
As an emerging adult of 21 yrs old, when the crime occurred, Karen received a life sentence with the possibility for parole after 25 years. In 2021, after serving 35 years, Karen received a 'serve-out' to spend the rest of her natural life locked away with no more opportunities at freedom, short of clemency or additional court action.
No reason was given for the 'serve-out' other than the nature of the crime which was never going to change. Prior to her incarceration she never had so much as a speeding ticket. Having been an outstanding student and athlete who suffered a significant injury Karen dropped out of college. She moved away from the small town in Kentucky where she had grown up to a more urban setting and larger college town where she landed amongst a crowd which led her to a more underground life experimenting with alcohol and drugs.
The rehabilitation and true story of Karen Brown is one that would put to shame the previous attempts to sensationalize the false narratives. Karen, to this date, nearly 40 years later has had only one institutional ticket from when she congratulated a peer with a kiss for receiving a pardon from then Governor Steve Beshear. This ticket occurred a decade prior to her serve-out. As a Renaissance woman, Karen has completed over 100 programs. Karen is talented in both visual and musical arts. She has created numerous murals, paintings, and drawings. She has received 7 advanced degrees funded by her supporters, including a master's in education concentrated in counseling, has held numerous positions including 24-hr maintenance, chapel clerk, law library, braille program, has been active in the dog training programs and volunteers in the prison hospice (where she fears she will one day die). Karen has been a staple to the institution for 4 decades. She has helped launch many programs and continues to lead the prison music ministry and worship having done so for over a quarter century. Karen's contributions have not only benefitted those incarcerated but have positively impacted those of us who have been fortunate enough to have known her during those few short years of her life as a free woman as well as those she has met through correspondence and volunteering/working at the institution.
Today Karen approaches her 40-year anniversary behind bars. We are reminded of that 21-year-old kid, full of energy, talent, and heart that became temporarily misguided and who continues to honor Michael's life by giving back to others. As the face of true restorative justice, we need to #KyFreeKarenBrown!
Karen first introduced me to this video of The Lady Lifers at Muncy State Prison in Pennsylvania about a year ago. She told me how it best expresses her emotions at times......to help me get into her mind when she is low and even when she is up. Karen has said that people often tell her they can't begin to understand her emotions...this video is a way to gain some understanding in her time, her faith. She has not seen the preceding commentary by the Secretary of Corrections at the beginning of the video. I know she dreams of freedom and hopes for mercy!
Naomi Blount on keyboards was released in 2019 with a commutation after serving 37 years and Danielle Hadley was more recently granted a commutation from Governor Shapiro in 2025 after serving 38 years in prison.
Former KCIW Resident
"Brown-Just wanted to tell you that I thank you for being there for me and that I love and appreciate you very much. Thank you for being such a strong, loving faith-filled woman. You have something rare; You have perspective, grit and wisdom. Your friendship, prayers, love and support means more to me that I could every fully express. I thank God for placing you in my life. Without a doubt you are one of the best. You show up every day with strength in your hands and love in your heart.
You taught me how to be a good friend. It's not about being perfect its about being present. You've done that with courage, patience and a sense of humor that's held it all together even on the hardest days. You've overcome your own battles, grown through pain and stepped up when it would have been easier to step away. That kind of strength is steady and real. It's the kind that inspires others and is inspired me.
You may not always get the thanks you deserve but today, I hope you feel the pride and appreciation that surrounds you. You're not just a great friend, you are a good woman, a solid Christian and someone I deeply admire. Keep going! Keep loving! Keep showing up because its working! You are making a difference in other's lives every single day. There is still so much joy waiting for you. There is purpose for your life that extends far beyond these walls. A purpose full of hope, healing and testimony.
With so much love, respect and belief in you,
B.
Friend of KB
I met Karen Brown over 40 yrs ago. We were both just a couple of 21-yr old 'butch' lesbians having dropped out of college in smaller Ky towns searching for self, purpose and belonging. Both in Lexington, crossing paths multiple times in an underground culture involving alcohol, drugs, bars & softball. It was 1985 and 'family' wasn't just a code word, it was all some of us had. What happened to Karen could've been any of us...charged with capital murder in one of Lexington's most sensationalized cases.
A star athlete and exceptional student having no prior record, Karen arrived at KCIW to pay her debt to society with the entire population lined up for her arrival! Quickly immersing herself in programming, Karen became a staple to the institution. Completing over 100 programs including a master's in education, leading music ministry over a quarter century and volunteering in prison hospice where Karen fears she will one day die. Sleeping under only a gray fleece blanket, Karen has refused for 4 decades to get under the covers as that would mean she was home. With 1 ticket while incarcerated 10 yrs prior, for congratulating a peer with a kiss for a pardon received, Karen was given a serve-out by the Parole Board, ineffectively changing the sentence given by a judge and jury for the possibility of parole to now serve-out a sentence of death by incarceration.
Continuing to live according to her faith, Karen exemplifies restorative justice.
Karen has made a huge impact with the life I have today, the family I have and the work I do. What happened back in 1986 could've easily been anyone of us. What has happened since that time has taken faith, courage, heart and strength at a level few of us will ever know.
A voice locked away for nearly 40 yrs, humbled with her existence, living in forgiveness providing services and structure that few women there have known...as an eager young woman yearning to fulfill her passion, finding purpose & belonging has reached redemption.
Today in her 60's, I believe we can celebrate and embrace Karen, revering her guidance and symbolizing wisdom, maturity and the culmination of life experiences. Restorative justice & rehabilitation has occurred, 40 years is long enough! Let's bring Karen home!
CRG
Karen Brown
"I don't know that there's any appropriate apology for this...but I pray that the best apology I can give you is my behavior since my tragic actions. I hope my behavior is the best apology I can give you and give the family. If I'm granted the mercy of parole, I promise you that my life will be spent continuing to pay for this crime...because I have goals...that I started to meet in here, that I want to continue out there. I pray that my victims may one day also forgive me. I'm not asking for them to excuse me... I hope they will one day forgive me.
I appreciate the forgiveness of my family and my community but each morning I motivate myself in the Word and if I don't honor their loss by changing myself and continuing to be the person I should've been 34+ years ago, then I recommit this crime every day. If I don't do the right things....if I don't pay it forward, the chances the D.O.C. has given me...if I don't pay that forward today and the next day...that's my goal...to continue to do that...I beg for your mercy and your forgiveness."
Karen Brown-final words in her last parole hearing on January 26, 2021, before the Kentucky Parole Board changed her sentence from Life with the Possibility of Parole to a 'serve-out' of death by incarceration.