Mark Handy: Ex-LMPD detective whose lies sent innocent men to prison released early from jail

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Seventeen days into his one-year prison sentence, a former LMPD detective walked out of jail Friday.

Mark Handy, who accepted a plea deal following multiple admissions of wrongdoing in three murder investigations, was released from the Meade County Jail and will serve out the rest of his sentence at home.

Handy pleaded guilty on May 11 to charges of perjury and tampering with evidence. Each charge carried a one-year prison sentence, but the penalties were to run concurrently.

Handy was at the center of three homicide cases which resulted in four overturned convictions. In each of those cases, it was alleged that Handy acted inappropriately during his investigations. Even the Kentucky Supreme Court acknowledged Handy lied under oath in court documents.

Keith West, Jeffrey Clark and Edwin Chandler all were wrongfully convicted and sent to prison, eventually released and exonerated after years of being incarcerated.

“This is an absolute affront to Handy’s victims, the criminal justice system, and encourages officers in Kentucky to continue committing misconduct without fear of any meaningful incarceration,” attorney Elliott Slosar, who represents West, said in a statement to WAVE 3 News.

Handy was indicted on charges of perjury and tampering with evidence in September 2018 following several investigations by WAVE 3 News Troubleshooters. The stories prompted the Louisville Metro Council to ask the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Handy.

Handy’s attorney, Brian Butler, said that Friday’s ruling to release his client came with good reason.

“It is common for low-level non-violent offenders to be released on home incarceration based upon state budgetary issues as well as overcrowding issues,” Butler said.