FRANKFORT, Ky. (WMDJ) — Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman is seeking to move forward with a long-delayed legal proceeding involving the state's longest-held death row inmate.

Karu Gene White, 67, was sentenced to death in 1980 for the murders of three elderly people in Breathitt County.

White and two accomplices killed Charlie Gross, 75, his wife Lula, 74, and Lula's brother, Sam Chaney, 79, inside the general store they operated in 1979.

White filed a legal challenge in 2004 claiming he is intellectually disabled, which could make him ineligible for execution.

According to court documents, an early evaluation placed White's IQ at 81, while an expert retained by his defense reported an IQ of 67 in 2019.

The proceeding has remained on hold for years.

On Wednesday, Coleman's office argued in Powell Circuit Court to return the case to the active docket. Both sides have retained experts to address White's claim.

White's other state and federal appeals have been exhausted. No execution date has been announced.