Kentucky lawmaker wants to limit governor's pardon powers after Bevin scandal

Hannah Pinski, Louisville Courier Journal
·1 min read
Former Governor Matt Bevin walks to his seat before Gov. Andy Beshear's inauguration at the state capitol in Frankfort Tuesday afternoon. Dec. 10, 2019
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A Kentucky lawmaker is proposing a constitutional amendment that would limit the pardons of the governor at election time.

Sen. Chris McDaniels R-Ryland Heights, has filed Senate Bill 126, which would prohibit the governor from granting pardons 30 days prior to a gubernatorial election and and gubernatorial inauguration.

Since the bill is an amendment to the Kentucky Constitution, it would go to the secretary of state and be up for a vote on the ballot instead of heading to the governor's desk for a signature.

McDaniels said in the Senate on Jan. 24 that he introduced the bill to address former Gov. Matt Bevin's controversial actions during his final weeks in office in 2019, when he issued more than 600 pardons and commutations. The Courier Journal earned a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the last-minute acts of clemency, which were marked by racial disparity and included a killer whose brother had held a fundraiser for the governor.

State legislators called for both state and federal investigations, and Sen. Mitch McConnell, a fellow Republican, called the pardons "completely inappropriate." Bevin has defended his pardons.

McDaniels also said that he introduced the bill because of the recent parole hearing of Gregory Wilson. Wilson was convicted in 1988 for the rape and death of Deborah Pooley. He was sentenced to the death penalty, but Bevin in 2019 commuted his sentence to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

McDaniels said he wanted legislators "to consider this measure as a reasonable limitation to force a governor or to force the party of the governor to stand in front of the voters in the Commonwealth in answer for their actions."

The bill has be assigned to the Senate State and Local Government Committee.

Reach reporter Hannah Pinski at @hpinski@courier-journal.com or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @hannahpinski.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky governor's pardon powers would be limited under SB 126