# KY Attorney General: Prison Call Logs Aren't Public Records  
**Published:** 2026-04-22T00:00:00.000Z  
**Source:** [KY Attorney General Open Records](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-175.pdf)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/ky-attorney-general-prison-call-logs-aren-t-public-records

Kentucky's Attorney General has ruled that [inmate phone call logs held by a private contractor are not public records under state law](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-175.pdf), even when corrections facilities have access to them, according to an open records decision issued April 22.

The decision rejected an appeal by Kyle Thompson, an inmate at [Green River Correctional Complex](https://corrections.ky.gov/Facilities/AI/GRCC/Pages/default.aspx) in Central City, who sought copies of his call logs from July through November 2024. [The facility denied the request because Securus Technologies, the private company that operates the prison phone system, possesses the records, not the prison itself.](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-175.pdf)

Thompson argued that [since the prison has access to call logs to facilitate investigations, the records should qualify as public documents under Kentucky law.](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-175.pdf) However, [Attorney General Russell Coleman's office found that merely having access to records through a contractor is insufficient to make them "public records." The law requires that an agency actually "prepare, own, use, possess, or retain" the requested records.](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-175.pdf)

[The decision noted that the complex only "has access to call logs, in the event they are needed for investigative purposes,"](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-175.pdf) distinguishing between hypothetical access rights and actual possession. [Even though the prison had previously provided Thompson with a call log in response to another request, that disclosure did not establish the logs as public records under the legal definition.](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-175.pdf)

[Green River Correctional Complex is a 982-bed medium and minimum security adult male facility](https://corrections.ky.gov/Facilities/AI/GRCC/Pages/default.aspx) operated by the Kentucky Department of Corrections. [Securus Technologies operates the prison's phone system under contract](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-175.pdf), and [is required to retain inmate account information for two years after contract termination, with the prison having access for investigative purposes.](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-175.pdf)

The ruling highlights the distinction between public agency access to third-party records and actual agency possession. [Thompson has 30 days to file an appeal in circuit court if he wishes to challenge the Attorney General's decision.](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-175.pdf)

## Sources

- [KY Attorney General Open Records](https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-175.pdf)
- [Green River Correctional Complex facility information](https://corrections.ky.gov/Facilities/AI/GRCC/Pages/default.aspx)
- [Kentucky Open Records Act requirements and exemptions](https://corrections.ky.gov/public-information/Pages/open-records-requests.aspx)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from KY Attorney General Open Records, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://www.ag.ky.gov/Resources/orom/2026/26-ORD-175.pdf.