A man who was released from prison early after earning good-behavior credits for a conviction tied to the fatal stabbing of a 6-year-old Kentucky boy during a 2015 home invasion has been arrested again—this time for allegedly violating parole conditions.
Ronald Exantus, 42, of Indianapolis, had been serving a 20-year sentence connected to the death of Logan Tipton, who was killed in his Versailles, Kentucky, home. Exantus was released in October after accumulating credits that reduced his time behind bars by nine years.
Although Exantus confessed, a jury found him not guilty of murder by reason of insanity at trial. He was ultimately convicted on other charges stemming from the assaults on Logan’s family during the home invasion.
Logan’s sister, Kora Tipton, said the early release felt impossible to accept.
“Something needs to be changed because it cannot be that easy. You’ve committed a very heinous crime, and it’s just given to you,” she said.
Exantus was released on Oct. 1 and later moved to Marion County, Florida. Eight days later, he was arrested for allegedly failing to register as a convicted felon with the local sheriff’s office within 48 hours of arriving—a requirement under the terms of his parole, the New York Post reported.
He has since been extradited back to Kentucky. Even so, Logan’s father, Dean Tipton, said the family remains fearful that Exantus could soon return to the community without supervision.
“There’s no reason for any of us to ever have to walk down the street and possibly see our son’s murderer,” Tipton told WKYT-TV earlier this week.
The case has intensified scrutiny of Kentucky’s criminal justice system and how sentence-reduction credits are awarded.
“He committed crimes against Kentuckians. Kentuckians have a right to know what kind of credits he’s getting,” Ronnie Bowling, the top prosecutor in Whitley and McCreary counties and president of the Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ Association, told Lex 18 news.
Bowling added that he has seen credits applied in surprising ways. “I’ve seen people get good time credit for learning to play guitar. It was considered an educational credit which reduced the time of their sentence.”
According to the outlet, Exantus reduced his sentence through several categories of credits: five years for good behavior, two years for exceptional meritorious service, and 10 months for completing educational programs.
The early release also drew attention at the federal level. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the time that the administration was reviewing the situation.
“I can confirm the White House is looking into this. It’s wholly unacceptable for a child killer to walk free after just several years in prison,” she wrote on X.
In response, Kentucky state Rep. T.J. Roberts is advocating for “Logan’s Law,” legislation that would abolish mandatory reentry supervision.
“We’re going to make it to where if an individual is charged with multiple crimes for the same incident like we had here, you can’t have a split verdict on sanity versus insanity,” Roberts said.
