Office of the Attorney General
Bullitt County Man Pleads Guilty to Wrongfully Registering to Vote as Convicted Felon

Attorney General Jack Conway and his Office of Special Prosecutions announced today that a Bullitt County man, convicted 37 years ago in a Jefferson County killing, has pled guilty to a felony charge of wrongfully registering to vote in Bullitt County. Stephen Ray Thomason entered a guilty plea in Bullitt Circuit Court on Thursday, Dec.10. He was convicted in Louisville in 1972 on a charge of homicide occurring during a cutting in connection with the death of Eugene Kaufman, Sr., also of Louisville. Thomason’s status as a convicted felon was apparently overlooked when he was allowed to register to vote in Kentucky, just months after his homicide conviction.

Kaufman’s family members became aware of Thomason’s wrongful registration and subsequent violation of Kentucky election laws decades later. The family brought their complaint to officials in Bullitt County, the State Board of Elections, and the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office of Special Prosecutions. Thomason was indicted by a Bullitt County grand jury earlier this year after his original judgment of conviction was located in the Jefferson County archives.

The Attorney General’s Office is recommending a one-year sentence withheld pursuant to pretrial diversion for a period of five years. The office will also work with election officials to ensure Thomason is removed from voter roles.

"As Kentucky’s chief prosecutor, it is my duty to enforce the laws of this state," said General Conway. "We appreciate the victim’s family for bringing this matter to our attention and I’m pleased that my office was able to bring this case to a close and to ensure that Kentucky’s criminal election laws are enforced."

Sentencing is set in Bullitt Circuit Court for January 25, 2010.