GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF LIABILITY

KRS tit. L, ch. 501

in effect

KRS 501.010 Definitions

501.010. Definitions The following definitions apply in this chapter: (1) "Culpable mental state" means "intentionally" or "knowingly" or "wantonly" or "recklessly," as these terms are defined in KRS 501.020. (2) "Intoxication" means a disturbance of mental or physical capacities resulting from the introduction of substances into the body. (3) "Voluntary act" means a bodily movement performed consciously as a result of effort or determination and includes the possession of property if the actor was aware of his physical possession or control thereof for a sufficient period to have been able to terminate it. (4) "Voluntary intoxication" means intoxication caused by substances which the defendant knowingly introduces into his body, the tendency of which to cause intoxication he knows or ought to know, unless he introduces them pursuant to medical advice or under such duress as would afford a defense to a charge of crime. Effective: January 1, 1975 History: Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 11, effective January 1, 1975.

KRS 501.020 Definition of mental states

501.020. Definition of mental states The following definitions apply in the Kentucky Penal Code: (1) "Intentionally" -- A person acts intentionally with respect to a result or to conduct described by a statute defining an offense when his conscious objective is to cause that result or to engage in that conduct. (2) "Knowingly" -- A person acts knowingly with respect to conduct or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he is aware that his conduct is of that nature or that the circumstance exists. (3) "Wantonly" -- A person acts wantonly with respect to a result or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but is unaware thereof solely by reason of voluntary intoxication also acts wantonly with respect thereto. (4) "Recklessly" -- A person acts recklessly with respect to a result or to a circumstance described by a statute defining an offense when he fails to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the result will occur or that the circumstance exists. The risk must be of such nature and degree that failure to perceive it constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. Effective: January 1, 1975 History: Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 12, effective January 1, 1975.

KRS 501.030 Criminal liability

501.030. Criminal liability A person is not guilty of a criminal offense unless: (1) He has engaged in conduct which includes a voluntary act or the omission to perform a duty which the law imposes upon him and which he is physically capable of performing; and (2) He has engaged in such conduct intentionally, knowingly, wantonly or recklessly as the law may require, with respect to each element of the offense, except that this requirement does not apply to any offense which imposes absolute liability, as defined in KRS 501.050. Effective: January 1, 1975 History: Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 13, effective January 1, 1975.

KRS 501.040 Culpability -- Construction of statutes

501.040. Culpability -- Construction of statutes Although no culpable mental state is expressly designated in a statute defining an offense, a culpable mental state may nevertheless be required for the commission of such offense, or with respect to some or all of the material elements thereof, if the proscribed conduct necessarily involves such culpable mental state. Effective: January 1, 1975 History: Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 14, effective January 1, 1975.

KRS 501.050 Absolute liability

501.050. Absolute liability A person may be guilty of an offense without having one (1) of the culpable mental states defined in KRS 501.020 only when: (1) The offense is a violation or a misdemeanor as defined in KRS 500.080 and no particular culpable mental state is included within the definition of the offense; or (2) The offense is defined by a statute other than this Penal Code and the statute clearly indicates a legislative purpose to impose absolute liability for the conduct described. Effective: January 1, 1975 History: Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 15, effective January 1, 1975.

KRS 501.060 Causal relationships

501.060. Causal relationships (1) Conduct is the cause of a result when it is an antecedent without which the result in question would not have occurred. (2) When intentionally causing a particular result is an element of an offense, the element is not established if the actual result is not within the intention or the contemplation of the actor unless: (a) The actual result differs from that intended or contemplated, as the case may be, only in the respect that a different person or different property is injured or affected or that the injury or harm intended or contemplated would have been more serious or more extensive; or (b) The actual result involves the same kind of injury or harm as that intended or contemplated and occurs in a manner which the actor knows or should know is rendered substantially more probable by his conduct. (3) When wantonly or recklessly causing a particular result is an element of an offense, the element is not established if the actual result is not within the risk of which the actor is aware or, in the case of recklessness, of which he should be aware unless: (a) The actual result differs from the probable result only in the respect that a different person or different property is injured or affected or that the probable injury or harm would have been more serious or more extensive than that caused; or (b) The actual result involves the same kind of injury or harm as the probable result and occurs in a manner which the actor knows or should know is rendered substantially more probable by his conduct. (4) The question of whether an actor knew or should have known the result he caused was rendered substantially more probable by his conduct is an issue of fact. Effective: January 1, 1975 History: Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 16, effective January 1, 1975.

KRS 501.070 Liability -- Ignorance or mistake

501.070. Liability -- Ignorance or mistake (1) A person's ignorance or mistake as to a matter of fact or law does not relieve him of criminal liability unless: (a) Such ignorance or mistake negatives the existence of the culpable mental state required for commission of an offense; or (b) The statute under which he is charged or a statute related thereto expressly provides that such ignorance or mistake constitutes a defense or exemption; or (c) Such ignorance or mistake is of a kind that supports a defense of justification as defined in this Penal Code. (2) When ignorance or mistake relieves a person of criminal liability under subsection (1) but he would be guilty of another offense had the situation been as he supposed it was, he may be convicted of that other offense. (3) A person's mistaken belief that his conduct, as a matter of law, does not constitute an offense does not relieve him of criminal liability, unless such mistaken belief is actually founded upon an official statement of the law, afterward determined to be invalid or erroneous, contained in: (a) A statute or other enactment; or (b) A judicial decision, opinion or judgment; or (c) An administrative order or grant of permission; or (d) An official interpretation of the public officer or body charged by law with responsibility for the interpretation, administration or enforcement of the law defining the offense. Effective: January 1, 1975 History: Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 17, effective January 1, 1975.

KRS 501.080 Liability -- Intoxication

501.080. Liability -- Intoxication Intoxication is a defense to a criminal charge only if such condition either: (1) Negatives the existence of an element of the offense; or (2) Is not voluntarily produced and deprives the defendant of substantial capacity either to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law. Effective: January 1, 1975 History: Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 18, effective January 1, 1975.

KRS 501.090 Liability -- Duress

501.090. Liability -- Duress (1) In any prosecution for an offense other than an intentional homicide, it is a defense that the defendant engaged in the proscribed conduct because he was coerced to do so by the use of, or a threat of the use of, unlawful physical force against him or another person which a person in his situation could not reasonably be expected to resist. (2) The defense provided by subsection (1) is unavailable if the defendant intentionally or wantonly placed himself in a situation in which it was probable that he would be subjected to coercion. Effective: January 1, 1975 History: Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 406, sec. 19, effective January 1, 1975.

KRS 501.100 Offense against a vulnerable victim

501.100. Offense against a vulnerable victim (1) As used in this section, "offense against a vulnerable victim" means any violation of: (a) KRS 508.100; (b) KRS 508.110; (c) KRS 508.120; (d) KRS 510.040, 510.050, 510.060, 510.070, 510.080, 510.090, 510.110, 510.120, or 530.020, if the victim is under the age of fourteen (14), or if the victim is an individual with an intellectual disability, physically helpless, or mentally incapacitated, as those terms are defined in KRS 510.010; (e) KRS 529.100 or 529.110 if the victim is a minor; (f) KRS 530.064(1)(a); (g) KRS 531.310; (h) KRS 531.320; or (i) Any felony in KRS Chapter 209. (2) A person may be charged with committing an offense against a vulnerable victim in a continuing course of conduct if the unlawful act was committed against the same person two (2) or more times over a specified period of time. (3) If a person is charged as committing the crime in a continuing course of conduct, the indictment shall clearly charge that the crime was committed in a continuing course of conduct. (4) To convict a person of an offense against a vulnerable victim in a continuing course of conduct, the jury shall unanimously agree that two (2) or more acts in violation of the same statute occurred during the specified period of time. The jury need not agree on which specific acts occurred. (5) If a person is convicted of an offense against a vulnerable victim in a continuing course of conduct, that person may not also be convicted of charges based on the individual unlawful acts that were part of the continuing course of conduct. (6) The penalty, probation and parole eligibility, and other consequences of an offense charged under this section shall be the same as for the offense when charged based on an individual act. (7) The applicability of this section shall be governed by the age of the victim at the time of the offense. Effective:April 9, 2016 History: Created 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 83, sec. 1, effective April 9, 2016.

KRS 501.110 Offense committed with the aid of an unmanned aircraft system

501.110. Offense committed with the aid of an unmanned aircraft system A person is guilty of an offense committed with the aid of an unmanned aircraft system if the unmanned aircraft system is under his or her control and the conduct would have given rise to criminal liability for the offense if performed directly by the person, unless the conduct consists solely of flying the unmanned aircraft system through navigable airspace in the normal course of operation of a legally registered unmanned aircraft system. Effective: July 14, 2018 History: Created 2018 Ky. Acts ch. 26, sec. 2, effective July 14, 2018.

Source: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission (legislature.ky.gov)URL: https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/chapter.aspx?id=39365Fetched: 10/20/2026