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By every measure, Karen Brown looked like someone with a bright future. She was an engaged student. She excelled in athletics. She grew up in Hustonville, a small Kentucky community where teachers, classmates, and neighbors knew her as a hardworking young woman. She had no criminal record and was known for her achievements in school and sports. A serious athletic injury later disrupted her college plans, and after leaving school she found herself in a different environment. Y

I want you to judge me according to my integrity, and I’m sure other people do too. I don't hide my integrity and I don’t deny my integrity. I’ve made the changes to walk in Integrity for 40+ years. Many walk with a good set of values even after we receive death by incarceration from the parole boards. But I have to ask myself and I want you to ask yourself is the criminal justice system, it’s the leaders and are they striving for integrity in their decisions? Are governors,

Karen Brown has spent over four decades behind bars, a victim of a justice system that criminalized her identity rather than sought the truth. Her story reveals how prejudice against LGBTQ people in the 1980s led to a conviction that still haunts her today. As we remember the anniversary of the Stonewall uprising today, June 28th, Pride Month shines a light on LGBTQ rights and history, Karen’s case reminds us how far we must go to ensure justice and equality for all. Karen Br

Bellarmine College located in Louisville, Kentucky brought in the Books Behind Bars program to Kentucky Correctional Institution for Women located in Pewee Valley, Kentucky. This is Karen, and I usually talk about parole board reform, talk about second chances and second looks, but I’d just like to share a couple meaningful moments that were in my life, and one was the Bellarmine College brought a program in here called Books Behind Bars and I helped troubled youth. And getti

"What is happening out there dad?" is a line from a favorite movie of mine "Day After Tomorrow". What is...political chaos deceit being spread, slander over truth...we see it on the news, TV shows, and we're in prison! After 40+ years of rehabilitation, I try to stand for what is right, while it seems others spread hate. Yes, it is tough in here at times yet, I am trying to heal death by incarceration with advocacy, hope and humanity. Our Kentucky governor said recently," we

Karen Brown has spent over 40 years behind bars in Kentucky, a fact that demands serious reflection. Her case has drawn attention not only because of the length of her incarceration but also due to the growing bipartisan support for her clemency. This support crosses political lines, emphasizing that this issue is not about political gain but about justice, fairness, and humanity. Kentucky stands at a crossroads where it can choose to do what is right—not just for Karen Brown

Today, the average cost of housing an inmate here in Kentucky for a year is around $25,000. At 62 years old, I can definitely tell you, I cost more than that due to problems related to aging. This is hard on taxpayer money that should be going towards schools and different programs, that are going toward keeping a well rehabilitated, reformed, no threat to society person locked up well past what my sentence was 40+ years ago. There are other states that face the same outcomes