Should Kentucky governors be able to make late-term pardons? Bill wants to change constitution
The headlines were bad.
“Northern Kentucky murderer could soon walk free after commutation of his death sentence. Convicted child rapist, who was later pardoned, sentenced to 23 years in prison. Campbell County political activist receives unconditional pardon,” Sen. Chris McDaniel, R-Taylor Mill, read off during a Senate Standing Committee on State & Local Government hearing Wednesday.
The stories had to do with the final days of former governor Matt Bevin’s administration when he pardoned hundreds of convicted felons.
McDaniel wants to add an amendment to the state constitution that he says will prevent that from happening.
Senate Bill 149, which made it out of committee on a 7-3 party line, is aimed at preventing future governors from rushing pardons as the Bevin administration did. It prevents governors from pardoning or commuting sentences in their final weeks at the helm of state government.
The amendment specifically prohibits pardons starting the 30 days before a gubernatorial election and ending the fifth Tuesday after the election.
“This amendment will prevent any more hiding in the darkness of the last minutes of an administration,” McDaniel said. “There will be no more allowing the rich and the powerful to influence the scales of justice without the recourse of the voters, of the citizens of the Commonwealth.”
McDaniel said that while Bevin’s pardons “disgusted” him, the bill isn’t about relitigating the past.
“The scariest thing that happened wasn’t necessarily the actions that were taken, but the veil that was lifted on the actions that could be taken,” McDaniel said. “... If a governor believes in a pardon enough, he or she can stand in front of the voters.”
The Northern Kentucky Senator sponsored the same bill in 2020. It passed the Senate 33-4, but never received a vote in the House. McDaniel told the Herald-Leader he’s more optimistic it will clear both chambers this year.
McDaniel was on the ticket in 2015 as a candidate for lieutenant governor alongside gubernatorial candidate James Comer, who is now a U.S. Congressman for Kentucky’s 2nd District. He and Comer lost to Bevin by a mere 83 votes in the Republican primary.
Last year, the General Assembly passed a law putting another constitutional amendment on the ballot, stating Kentucky’s Constitution does not secure or protect a right to abortion or funding of abortion.
That amendment, along with another related to legislative session dates, are both set to be on the ballot next year. Since the accepted limit on constitutional amendments to be voted on during each election cycle in Kentucky is four, that leaves only two more that can be added.
The two Democrats on the committee voted against the pardon-related amendment, as did Sen. Adrienne Southworth, R-Lawrenceburg.
Southworth called it a “knee jerk” reaction to the “disaster” of Bevin’s pardons.
Sen. Morgan McGarvey, D-Louisville, said he was “one of the first” people to call Bevin out on his pardons, but he has concerns about chipping away at a power traditionally conferred to the governor.
“Governor Bevin abused the pardon power when he left office, I think we all agree on that. The question is, how do we fix it going forward? I think some reforms need to be made, but I think that the approach taken in the Constitution is too overreaching and will also be there potentially forever,” McGarvey said. “It’s very difficult to change once it’s in the Constitution.”
McGarvey said he’d prefer to see more popular constitutional amendments, such as one that would legalize gambling in the state, on the ballot this year.
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 2:33 PM.
