FRANKFORT, Ky. -- The mother was at home preparing cheese sticks and a milkshake when she got the call. On the other line, a prosecutor had surprising news about the man who had been convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting her child and sentenced last year to 23 years in prison.In one of his last
FRANKFORT, Ky. — The mother was at home preparing cheese sticks and a milkshake when she got the call. On the other line, a prosecutor had surprising news about the man who had been convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting her child and sentenced last year to 23 years in prison.
Many of the reprieves had been advocated by defense lawyers or groups who challenge questionable convictions. But a review of pardon orders, court records and interviews with lawyers and Bevin administration officials shows that in a number of cases, Bevin went even further than those recommendations, and in some instances made his decision without a single consultation with prosecutors or the families of victims.
Story continuesHis final flurry of pardons and sentence reductions amounted to a remarkable act of reprieve, both in volume and nature. Experts say it is unusual to issue so many clemency grants at the very end of a term, and particularly unusual for a governor to act as the personal arbitrator on wrongful conviction claims, even more so in cases, such as Schoettle’s, still making their way through the appeals system.
“The clemency power is the traditional last resort,” said Margaret Love, a former federal pardon attorney. “If there is truly a case for innocence or unfairness, it’s usually going to be caught by the courts. And if it isn’t caught by the courts, I would recommend a really thorough and pretty public examination of individual cases to determine innocence.”
But his critics say that he displayed reckless arrogance in some of his decisions, and legislators from both parties have since called for investigations and discussed amending the constitution to curtail the pardon authority for future governors. “With days and hours to get this done, we didn’t think we could launch an innocence project,” said John Tilley, the head of Bevin’s Cabinet on justice and public safety.The governor found ‘no evidence.’ The prosecutor said he didn’t ask.
But Jon Heck, a special prosecutor in the case who said he had not been contacted by Bevin’s office, said there was plenty of evidence: Independent witnesses told the police that Jones had assaulted the boy, Heck said, and prosecutors had obtained texts from Jones in which he acknowledged being part of the assault.
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