FRANKFORT, Ky. (LEX 18) — A Republican lawmaker wants to guarantee that what happened at the end of former Gov. Matt Bevin's time in office never occurs again.
"I was sickened by it," said State Sen. Christian McDaniel. "It really was indefensible."
McDaniel is referencing the hundreds of pardons granted by Bevin on his way out in late 2019 - including those given to people convicted of serious crimes like murder, rape, and child sexual abuse. Several of those orders have stirred outrage from victims or their families, prosecutors and lawmakers.
So, McDaniel suggests removing a governor's pardon powers in the month leading up a gubernatorial election and the time between an election and swearing in.
“This, in essence, is a two-month period out of every four years when a governor could not issue pardons,” McDaniel said during his presentation to the Senate State and Local Government Committee on Wednesday.
"That power should not rest in one person who will never again stand accountable in front of the voters," he added.
His proposal — Senate Bill 126 — seeks to amend the state’s constitution. So, if it proposal clears the legislature, it would go on the November statewide ballot for voters to decide the issue.
One of the people pardoned by Bevin was Patrick Baker, whose family had political connections to the Republican governor, including hosting a fundraiser for him. Baker was pardoned for a 2014 drug robbery killing but later was convicted for the same slaying in federal court. He was sentenced to 42 years in prison. A federal appellate court upheld the conviction.
On Wednesday, McDaniel put the spotlight on the case of Gregory Wilson, who was convicted in 1988 for the rape and death of a woman. Wilson was sentenced to the death penalty, but Bevin commuted his sentence to life with the possibility of parole after 30 years. The state parole board recently decided that Wilson must serve out the remainder of his life sentence.
“He should have never been eligible for parole in the first place, as he was given a sentence of death,” McDaniel said. His proposal also seeks to put the same limits on gubernatorial commutations.
McDaniel has pushed for the same constitutional change since 2020 but has so far been unable to get the measure through the entire legislature. In making his latest pitch Wednesday, McDaniel said his proposal would fix a “deficiency” in the state’s constitution.
“I think that it is imperative to the foundational issues of justice in the commonwealth that one individual not be able to short-circuit the entirety of a justice system, McDaniel said.
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The Associated Press contributed to this story.
