Nevada Attorney General Faces Questions Over Clemency Bid

Nevada’s Attorney General, Aaron Ford, is under scrutiny for supporting a clemency bid for Norman Smith, a convicted killer. Smith was serving a sentence for killing a pregnant woman in a convenience store parking lot. The crime occurred while Smith was out on bail for armed robbery against Vegas tourists.

State records indicate Ford was the sole sponsor for Smith’s commutation application at a Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners meeting in September. Despite Ford’s backing, the board did not grant clemency, and Ford did not attend the hearing.

Ford is currently campaigning for governor against Republican Governor Joe Lombardo. Lombardo has criticized Ford’s record on public safety and criminal justice reform. The attorney general’s decision to support Smith’s bid has drawn political attention.

Fox News Digital reached out to Ford’s campaign for comment. An official explained Ford missed the hearing due to a family medical emergency. However, they did not clarify why Ford sponsored Smith’s specific case.

A conservative tracker questioned Ford at the Las Vegas airport after a trip to Arizona, the same day as Smith’s hearing. When asked about the clemency sponsorship, Ford evaded the questions and repeated vague responses.

Under the rules of the Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners, an inmate’s clemency application remains pending until one of the board’s members, such as the governor or attorney general, sponsors it. By supporting Smith’s application, Ford moved it from the administrative queue to the state agenda for a hearing and vote.

Smith’s case was Ford’s only sponsored clemency request of the year. In 2015, Smith was on bail, facing multiple charges, when he killed Tineshea Adams. Smith claimed self-defense but was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and armed robbery. He is serving a 10-to-39-year prison sentence.

Matt Gorman, a Republican strategist, criticized Ford’s response at the airport. Gorman stated, “If Nevada’s top law enforcement officer cannot explain his backing for early release of a man convicted of such crimes, he should not be governor.”