Correll's attorneys ask for shock probation
Apr. 19—The attorneys for former Somerset Police Captain Michael Correll have filed a motion asking a Pulaski Circuit Court judge to grant shock probation to him.
Attorneys Jeremy Bartley and Kerri Bartley filed the motion Wednesday, asking for Correll to be granted home incarceration rather than to serve out his full five-year sentence. Correll is currently housed at the Laurel County Correctional Center.
Correll was sentenced in February after pleading guilty to 22 counts, including third-degree Burglary, Tampering with Physical Evidence, Abuse of Public Trust, Theft by Unlawful Taking, Trafficking in a Controlled Substance, Receiving Stolen Property, Official Misconduct and Unlawful Access to a Computer.
The charges stem from incidents that took place from November 1, 2022 and January 13, 2023.
Correll was arrested after items such as drugs and weapons turned up missing from the Somerset Police Department's evidence room, as well as pills being taken from a secure medicine drop-off box located in the lobby of the Energy Center.
Court records indicate that Correll accessed the evidence room by using keycards that belonged to other members of the department. He used those cards without the consent of the person to whom they were issued.
Shock probation is where a judge will sentence someone to prison for a short amount of time in the belief that being in jail will "shock" that person into not wanting to commit any further crimes. The judge will then allow the convicted person to leave jail before the completion of the sentence.
In filing the shock probation request, Correll's attorneys stated that because of Correll's background of being a police officer, special accommodations are in place for his safety while he is in prison.
That means Correll is kept "in protective custody... from other inmates; specifically, this means that Mr. Correll is kept in isolation for approximately 23 hours a day."
This not only means he is not able to interact with other inmates or participate in recreation time, he is not able to attend classes that might help him either.
"Mr. Correll must use his single hour of recreation time a day to complete all personal grooming tasks and communication with family," his attorneys state. "If Mr. Correll wishes to speak to other inmates or enjoy any socialization, he is forced to do so through a slot in an iron door."
This caused a decline in his mental health, taking away the gains he made during substance abuse and mental health therapy that he made before his sentencing, they argued.
As an alternative, the attorneys asked that Correll be allowed to go on home-incarceration "at his expense" which would be sufficient to "address any concerns about relapse or access to substances," they said.
They also asked for Correll to be re-enrolled in an inpatient mental health and substance recovery program.
Commonwealth's Attorney David L. Dalton objected to the request, citing that when Correll was committing his offenses, he seemed to attempt to set up the person to whom the keycards were issued "as the patsy for his crimes."
During the sentencing hearing in February, Dalton noted that Correll was seen on video surveillance several times entering the evidence locker using the keycard and code assigned to another officer.
Judge Teresa Whitaker has not yet made a ruling on this matter.
Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com
