Matt Butler, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Letcher County

Matt Butler, Commonwealth’s Attorney for Letcher County Matt Butler is the Commonwealth’s Attorney for Kentucky’s 47th Judicial Circuit, covering Letcher Co.

For nearly two years, everybody in the courthouse has had to bite their tongue while we all get slandered by those who e...
06/09/2026

For nearly two years, everybody in the courthouse has had to bite their tongue while we all get slandered by those who either work for Mickey or align themselves with him. We simply cannot talk about the merits of the case because a fair trial is absolutely essential. I believe in the Constitution.

However, this past week, Mickey’s lawyers have decided to whine because I didn’t want to get dragged into their circus. I did end up testifying relating to a change of venue and my thoughts are easily findable online because the hearing was broadcast on TV everywhere.

His lawyers never had the spine to call me and ask me to appear. I’m assuming they don’t have the courage to talk to me because they know what they and their investigator Joel Cotton a.k.a. Joel Newton have been doing.

While somebody is circling my child’s kindergarten graduation and reaching out to people sympathetic to Mickey who use the same daycare as my preschooler, so they can harass me around my children, none of the lawyers can call me.

Here is why I don’t speak to Joel Cotton aka Joel Newton: the man tells people he is a federal investigator to try to intimidate them. He is not in any way part of the federal government. He also sends out text messages like the one screenshot below. He’ll deny this like he did to reporters, but I’m satisfied that this came from him and the phone number he uses. Does this look like somebody who is after the truth or somebody who’s trying to bribe people to say what he wants? You decide. 

Again, if you need me, I’m easy to find. If you are a lawyer, just pick up the phone and have a spine. People need to learn to leave my children alone. 

06/09/2026

On June 3, 2026, Vincent Fleming was sentenced to nineteen years in prison for the homicide of Renata Bailey. Under Kentucky law, voluntary intoxication is not usually a defense to a crime. However, in circumstances like this case, a defendant can show that he was so intoxicated that he could not form the specific intent to commit murder. Based on the state of the law, the most I could realistically prove was First- Degree Manslaughter and the most time that Vincent Fleming could get was 20 years. I negotiated a plea of 19 years. In exchange for taking one year off the maximum, Fleming cannot appeal his sentence and the victim's family has been spared the agony of a trial.

There is never enough jail time, under Kentucky law, for someone who has taken a life. I am bound to follow the law and must consider what I can do, not what I wish I could do. Mr. Fleming was not a persistent felony offender and therefore not subject to the heightened punishment that applied to Rodney Webb, the homicide case we tried last month.

Some outcomes are tough and I knew that going into this job. If you find that range of punishment too low for this crime, contact your legislators and tell them to increase the punishment. I would gladly have given Mr. Fleming more time if the law allowed it.

I understand the frustration of Renata's family and my heart breaks for them. I hope that they understand that we've done all we could.

05/27/2026

We have concluded the trial of Rodney Webb for the killing of his nephew Nicholas Webb in April 2024. The jury has convicted Rodney Webb of manslaughter in the first degree, which means that the jury felt that the defendant meant to cause serious physical injury, but ended up causing a death. The victim was shot one time in the leg after a disagreement. The jury also convicted Rodney Webb of being a persistent felony offender and recommended a sentence of 25 years. Because Mr. Webb has already been convicted of a felony and used a firearm in the commission of this new offense, he will not be eligible for any form of parole and must serve every day of the 25 years.  I want to thank all of the first responders, in particular Detective Brandon Thomas from the Kentucky State Police, who did an excellent job on this case. I’d also like to thank my entire staff for their hard work, including giving up every day of their Memorial Day weekend to help prepare for this trial. I have the best office staff imaginable, and I am grateful for them. 

We can never fully repay those who died serving our country. We can honestly and genuinely honor those who died for our ...
05/24/2026

We can never fully repay those who died serving our country. We can honestly and genuinely honor those who died for our freedom, and we can try to make sure we love the country and work hard to improve the country they died for.

05/13/2026

I’m going to withhold comments on pending cases until after sentencing. I do want to address what seems like a lot of frustration with the public that every homicide does not result in the death penalty.

Kentucky recognizes four levels of homicide. There’s reckless homicide, first and second-degree manslaughter and murders. Murder is the most severe and requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt that somebody intended to kill and did in fact kill.

Even within murder convictions, not every murder is eligible for the death penalty. You can read KRS 532.025(2)(a) for a list of the aggravating circumstances, one of which has to be found beyond a reasonable doubt before a defendant is eligible for the death penalty.

In the mid 1970s, the United States Supreme Court briefly struck down all death penalty cases and then reinstated the death penalty about a year later. Since that time, Kentucky has executed 3 defendants. That’s three people who have been executed out of every single homicide that has occurred in Kentucky since the mid 1970s. By the way, two of those people were volunteers who gave up their appeals. 

To my understanding, the last person sentenced to death who actually received the death penalty committed his offense in 1980 and was sentenced to death in 1981. Letcher Countians know well that people can sit on death row practically forever. Just look at Hodge and Epperson, two of the twenty-four inmates listed as being on Kentucky’s death row. They committed a horrific killing in Letcher County forty years ago and are still on death row.

My job is primarily to do justice. That means that if I have to bite my tongue for a while and take some political heat because people don’t understand the cases, I’m willing to do that. When it’s appropriate (after sentencing when we no longer have to worry about pre-trial jury exposure to facts), I’ll give you more of a response on Vincent Fleming. I’m proud of the job my office is doing and I’m being transparent with you, and I appreciate your understanding. MB

When I say “I inherited a mess at work and things had really piled up,” you probably thought I was speaking figurativel...
05/13/2026

When I say “I inherited a mess at work and things had really piled up,” you probably thought I was speaking figuratively. My office staff and I have worked as hard as we can to get the case load caught up and now it looks like we’re going to have to also turn our attention to the storage building. Why on earth would Frankfort send so many chairs? Anyone in state government can tell you you can’t just throw those things away. There’s a whole process.

On a serious note, none of us knew what we were walking into when I took the appointment in July 2024. I’m still proud to be from Letcher County and I’m still honored to do the hard work of getting felony prosecution back on track. Eastern Kentucky has elected some excellent, hard-working prosecutors and our region has a lot to be proud of. Things are looking up.


05/11/2026

The murder trial of Mark Miles was, at the request of the defendant, moved from today to Tuesday August 11, 2026. The murder trial of Rodney Webb is currently set for May 26. Additionally, pending homicide cases under indictment in our office are Vincent Fleming, which will have an update of some kind after a pretrial conference Wednesday of this week, and Shelly Damron which had oral argument before the Kentucky Supreme Court recently on an evidentiary issue. No action can be taken by the Letcher Circuit Court until an opinion is issued in the Damron case.

As a reminder, Kentucky has no statute of limitations on homicides or on any other felony of any kind. If you know about a felony that has been committed, contact the sheriff or the city police or the Kentucky State Police and ask them to investigate. My office can only handle cases once investigation is completed to the point where the case can be presented to the grand jury. 

Thank you for the honor of serving you. Please know that we are working as fast as we can to get these cases to trial. Because a fair trial is essential, we cannot comment on the facts of an individual case. Our job is to do justice and not only to secure convictions. We must therefore do everything we can to maintain an unbiased jury pool. 

My office and I are thankful for the unsung heroes in the criminal justice system. Corrections officers handle the most ...
05/04/2026

My office and I are thankful for the unsung heroes in the criminal justice system. Corrections officers handle the most dangerous people and they do it while wildly outnumbered and without weapons. They keep us safe and put themselves in harm’s way to do it. All across our Commonwealth and also in Virginia, Letcher Countians work in dangerous conditions every day.

Locally, I’ve had the chance to see the other side of the job. Our local jail has no choice about which inmates they are asked to house, but I’ve seen the way they care for the inmates. During my many years as public defender and private defense attorney, I’ve come to learn that the jailers are often who inmates lean on as the inmates withdraw from drug abuse. The guards often find themselves dealing with people in mental health crises because our system turns a blind eye to the fact jails have become our mental asylums. The deputy jailers have always been patient with me when (in my old jobs) I had a seemingly endless list of clients to consult with.

Some people need to be in custody and that’s why I do the job I do. At the same time, every inmate is someone’s child and I’m proud of our local jailer and his staff for treating people with dignity. I’m very thankful for Brian Slone and all of the jailers and deputy jailers I’ve dealt with over the last nineteen years for the important and under-appreciated work they do. Thank you!

So this is spam and ky. govqtc. cc/ dmv isn’t a real site. I get them, too. Stay on your toes, everyone!
04/20/2026

So this is spam and ky. govqtc. cc/ dmv isn’t a real site. I get them, too. Stay on your toes, everyone!

04/03/2026

The Court of Appeals has affirmed the conviction against Robert “Bill” Meade. The conviction was the result of hard work in our office, especially by the two assistant Commonwealth’s Attorneys at the time. A conviction upheld on appeal shows that our office is capable of winning trials, and winning them fairly and within bounds. I’m proud of my staff and the job we are doing for you here. You can read the opinion at the following link:

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