Nevada AG, Gubernatorial Candidate Dodges Questions on Support for Clemency Bid
Aaron Ford's campaign stated his sponsorship was a routine procedure, but he refused to elaborate on why he supported early release for a man who killed a pregnant woman while out on bail.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who is currently campaigning for governor, has refused to answer questions regarding his decision to sponsor a clemency bid for Norman Smith, a man convicted of killing a pregnant woman. Smith committed the murder while out on bail for a series of armed robbery charges against tourists.
State records indicate that Ford was the sole sponsor for Smith's commutation application at a Sept. 16 Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners meeting. Despite Ford's backing, the board ultimately denied the clemency request. Ford himself did not attend the hearing.
When confronted by a reporter at a Las Vegas airport, Ford, who is running against Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, avoided direct questions about his sponsorship of Smith's case. He stated he did not know which application the reporter was referring to before walking away.
Ford's campaign told Fox News Digital that the attorney general missed the clemency hearing due to an out-of-state family medical emergency. The campaign also stated that sponsoring an application is a standard procedural step that allows the Board of Pardons to consider a clemency request. However, the campaign declined to explain why Ford chose to sponsor Smith's specific case.
Records show that Smith's application was the only commutation request Ford sponsored in 2026. In 2015, Smith was out on bail facing 14 charges for armed robberies of tourists when he shot and killed Tineshea Adams, a pregnant woman. Smith was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and three counts of armed robbery, and he is currently serving a sentence of 10 to 39 years. He had claimed the killing was self-defense.
Under the rules of the Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners, an inmate's clemency application remains in an administrative queue until one of the nine board members sponsors it, moving it to the official agenda for a hearing and vote. Ford, as attorney general, is one of those nine members, along with the governor and state Supreme Court justices.