Western Kentucky Correctional Complex Releases
Western Kentucky Correctional Complex releases follow Kentucky DOC rules for sentenced state prisoners. A qualifying person may leave incarceration on parole, mandatory reentry supervision, sentence expiration, or a court order. The person can enter community supervision rather than become fully discharged from the sentence. A move to another Kentucky prison is a transfer and means state custody continues.
Each outcome points to a different record. The Kentucky DOC Daily Releases report is strong evidence of a DOC-recorded release event. KOOL explains the published incarceration or supervision status and displays sentence-related dates. VINE can report custody changes and provide notifications. A parole entry or certificate explains conditional release, while a final discharge record addresses the later end of supervision. None of these should be replaced by a county-jail lookup.
| State event | Meaning | Best source |
|---|---|---|
| Parole | Conditional community release before the sentence relationship ends. | KOOL, Daily Releases, and parole information |
| Mandatory reentry supervision | A statutory supervised release mechanism distinct from parole. | KOOL and DOC event records |
| Sentence expiration | The confinement or sentence stage reaches its recorded end. | Daily Releases and DOC discharge records |
| Institution transfer | The person remains in Kentucky DOC custody elsewhere. | KOOL location and DOC movement history |
Confirm a Western Kentucky Prison Release
Start with the Kentucky Offender Online Lookup, commonly called KOOL. A DOC or PID number is the safest key because it reduces same-name errors. If no identifier is available, use the name and only enough detail to separate matches. KOOL advises broad searches because a wrong exact field may hide the correct record.
- Search KOOL by DOC or PID number, or by name, and open the matching record.
- Read the current offender and supervision status before interpreting any date.
- Check the location and institution fields for Western Kentucky Correctional Complex or a later facility.
- Open the Kentucky DOC Daily Releases report for the expected event date and search for the person and releasing institution.
- Use Kentucky VINE for a custody-status check or alert, then request DOC records when the public fields do not resolve the event.
KOOL entries are updated daily, but Kentucky DOC warns that accuracy is not guaranteed and newer information may not be final. A proposed or projected date is not an event certificate. The Caldwell County release search gives the wider path when the same person also has a local jail, court, federal, or immigration custody record.
Western Kentucky Correctional Complex Contact
Kentucky DOC publishes the institution's address and main telephone. The mailing city can cause confusion in a county-focused search, so use the state agency's geographic identification rather than inferring the county from “Fredonia.” Call the institution for general facility routing, while using Kentucky DOC's open-records channel for a formal state record request.
Western Kentucky Correctional Complex
Agency: Kentucky Department of Corrections
Address: 374 New Bethel Church Road, Fredonia, KY
Telephone: 270-388-9781
County: Lyon County
Kentucky DOC open-record requests may be sent to correctionsopenrecords@ky.gov, P.O. Box 2400, Frankfort, KY 40602, or by fax to 502-564-9575. The email inbox is for records requests, not general information or live status questions. Identify the person and the desired existing record with enough precision for the custodian to locate it.
About Western Kentucky Correctional Complex
Western Kentucky Correctional Complex is a Kentucky DOC state prison with medium-custody and minimum-custody components. It is not a county jail, does not belong to Caldwell County government, and should not be labeled “Caldwell County Prison.” The official DOC location is Lyon County even though the address uses Fredonia.
The prison remains relevant to a Caldwell-focused release search because a felony case can move from local custody into state responsibility. A person with Caldwell ties may serve a state sentence there and later return to western Kentucky under supervision. Those links explain why the facility belongs in the custody pathway without inflating Caldwell County's local facility count.
Reading WKCC Release Dates in KOOL
KOOL uses several date labels that answer different questions. Expected Time to Serve is a computation. Minimum Expiration of Sentence Date is also labeled the Good Time Release Date. Parole Eligibility Date marks when parole consideration can become possible. Maximum Expiration is the outside sentence date represented in the record. A Proposed Release Date in a parole table concerns parole processing, while the search form separately offers a Projected Release Date range.
| KOOL field | Careful reading |
|---|---|
| Offender or supervision status | Shows the published state custody or supervision context. |
| Current location | May show WKCC, another institution, or a supervision setting. |
| Good Time Release Date | A computed minimum-expiration field, not proof of a past gate event. |
| Parole Eligibility Date | Marks possible consideration, not an approved release. |
| Proposed or projected date | May change as sentence, credit, or release factors change. |
| Parole information | Can show hearing action, deferral, eligibility, or proposal context. |
Search results can include a camera icon when a DOC photograph is available. The image is a state offender photo, not a Caldwell County booking photo. The lack of a photo does not disprove the record, and a matching face alone is not enough to resolve identity without the DOC or PID number and other fields.
Requesting Western Kentucky Release Records
When KOOL and a Daily Releases report do not answer the historical question, ask Kentucky DOC for the existing record that matches it. A focused request can seek the movement history, release event, sentence computation, parole certificate, or discharge document for a named person and date range. Use the DOC or PID number whenever possible.
KRS 61.872 governs sufficiently precise inspection and written requests. KRS 61.880 provides for a written response within five business days and an explanation when access is denied. KRS 61.874 addresses copies and generally limits a noncommercial fee to actual reproduction, media, and mechanical cost. KRS 61.878 permits redaction or withholding under applicable privacy, confidentiality, and investigative exemptions.
A request for a “release record” should state which event is in question. Ask for the actual release date and type, releasing institution, supervision destination, or receiving institution. If the person merely moved from Western Kentucky Correctional Complex to another prison, the movement history is the relevant record. If the person entered parole or mandatory supervision, request the event and supervision document rather than calling it final discharge.
WKCC and Kentucky DOC Daily Releases
The Daily Releases archive is unusually useful because it organizes Kentucky DOC release activity by calendar date and retains reports across years. Select the expected date, open the report, and search for the person's name or identifier. A matching row can give the release type and releasing institution. It supplies event evidence that a projected KOOL field cannot.
The archive covers Kentucky DOC activity, not every departure from every jail. Its scope also means a county jail can appear as the release site when that jail housed a state prisoner. In the Western Kentucky Correctional Complex context, compare the institution name, release type, and date against KOOL's status. If a report date and active status seem to conflict, request the movement or release record rather than choosing the more convenient result.
Kentucky VINE provides another check for participating adult correctional facilities. Notification timing and agency feeds can lag. A VINE release notice proves an exit from the reporting custody context, but a transfer notice or later KOOL location may show that incarceration continued elsewhere.
Supervision After a WKCC Release
Leaving Western Kentucky Correctional Complex does not always end Kentucky DOC authority. Parole is a Board-authorized conditional release. Mandatory reentry supervision under KRS 439.3406 is a separate mechanism that can place a qualifying inmate under supervision before minimum expiration. A person can therefore remain active in KOOL after leaving the prison gate.
Read Supervision Status and County of Supervision carefully. The county field identifies the supervising office context, not necessarily residence or county of conviction. Final discharge is a later event with its own rules. For applicable parole cases, 501 KAR 1:050 addresses the discharge process and restitution-related consequences. Do not use “released,” “paroled,” and “discharged” as synonyms.
Projected timing may also change. KRS 197.045 governs Kentucky sentence credits, including defined educational, program, good-behavior, and limited meritorious or emergency-service credits, along with caps and exclusions. KRS 439.3401 imposes special limits on statutory violent offenders, including an 85 percent rule in applicable term-of-years cases. It does not mean every Kentucky prisoner serves the same percentage. The actual event still requires a release or custody-status record.