'Is mercy fitting?' Here's what Aaron Ford has said about now controversial clemency votes

Turn on the television in Nevada, and you're likely to see an ad attacking Democratic governor candidate and Attorney General Aaron Ford for supporting clemency for 30 people convicted of murder.

Citing Fox News reporting showing the votes over his eight years in office to grant clemency to people convicted of murder, the ads often feature gruesome details of the killings. In one ad paid for by the pro-Lombardo Better Nevada PAC, a narrator tells the audience, "Aaron Ford voted to go easy on murderers, 30 times."

Ford did support clemency for those 30 individuals who had committed murder. Reviews of votes on the nine-member pardons board also show Ford's role in the votes, and how they compare to his opponent.

Ford's votes on motions related to 240 clemency applications over eight years in office aligned with Gov. Joe Lombardo, a member of the board, 210 times, and Ford was only the deciding vote in two of the 30 ones highlighted by the pro-Lombardo Better Nevada PAC, according to a review of records by The Nevada Independent.

Neither Ford nor his campaign has directly answered in-depth questions from The Nevada Independent about his votes on the Board of Pardons outside of press conferences, but the campaign did provide voting records for review.

Asked Thursday about his sponsorship of one particular clemency request that has drawn a firestorm of attention, Ford said he sponsored it because of a disproportionate sentence related to a robbery charge. He was not able to attend the meeting because of an out-of-state family emergency.

"I've looked at the video, I've seen the record, and I have said unequivocally that I would have voted against any form of relief," Ford said. "It was for a request to modify a sentence based on a robbery charge yet again, where the prosecutor himself said that this guy had been disproportionately prosecuted. That's the bottom line."

During a June 23 Nevada Board of Pardons meeting, Ford said he considers two major questions related to mercy and justice when deciding how to vote.

"The bottom line questions for me on these meetings is number one, what does justice require? And number two, is mercy fitting?" he said.

Lombardo spokesperson Halee Dobbins criticized Ford in a statement for not addressing questions in a public forum about clemency votes for the 30 killers.

What is the Board of Pardons and what does it do?

The board is constitutionally authorized to commute punishments, remit fines or forfeitures and grant pardons for state-level criminal convictions. It consists of the governor, the attorney general and the seven justices of the state Supreme Court and meets quarterly.

To receive a grant of clemency, a majority of the nine-member board must vote in favor, and at least five members must vote in favor regardless of the total number of board members present. The governor used to have veto power over the board's decisions, but that changed in 2020 with the passage of a state ballot question.

Clemency can take different forms, such as a full pardon or commutation of a sentence.

The Board of Pardons website does not provide written minutes or records of vote counts, but does provide audio recordings of the meetings, which often run four to five hours long or longer.

Transcripts are technically available, but they must be specially requested from the court reporter agency Capitol Reporters and cost money.

For 21 meeting transcripts, a representative from Capitol Reporters quoted The Nevada Independent a total cost of $17,934, but offered a media discount of $8,967.

Under state law, public bodies must make copies of minutes and audio recordings available to the public at no charge. However, the law notes that court reporters who transcribe meetings do not have to provide transcripts to the public at no charge.

Ford's votes

Pro-Lombardo campaign ads have focused on Ford's decision to sponsor Norman Smith's application to the pardons board.

Smith shot and killed a pregnant woman, Tineshea Adams, while he was out on bail in connection with a series of coordinated armed robbery attacks with other people on Strip tourists. 

Ford told The Nevada Independent on Thursday that he brought the case after seeing that the coordinated armed robbery featured a disproportionate sentence. It was requested by Smith's mother, who is politically connected and was recently diagnosed with cancer. 

"That's why I said we can put it on the agenda with no promise for a vote," Ford said.

Read More: How one inmate's clemency request took over the Nevada's governor race

An audio recording of the Sept. 16 meeting where Smith's case was heard is not available on the Board of Pardons website to review as of Thursday. Ford did not attend the meeting but said after reviewing it, he would have voted against Smith's application.

Meeting records show that 27 of the 30 votes highlighted in campaign ads were passed with more than the required five votes. Only two of Ford's votes brought the count to five and were the difference in approving the clemency application. Another application Ford voted yes on did not garner enough board support and was ultimately denied.

On five unanimous votes in the 12 clemency cases related to murder that came before the board while Lombardo was in office, the governor did not vote — records show two of the votes took place while he was attending the Western Governors' Conference.

With hours-long meetings, board members are often pulled away or have other duties. Ford and Lombardo attended various meetings where they did not vote on certain motions.

In the case of Montrail Smith, whose case was one of the 30 convicted murders highlighted by Lombardo supporters, the board voted 6-2 on June 23 to commute his sentences to run concurrently, making Smith immediately parole-eligible.

At 21, Smith shot and killed a man in an alley. Weeks later, he was one of the shooters when Demond Branch was killed. Following his time in prison, the law changed about deadly weapon enhancements, which was what Smith was asking to run concurrently with his other charge. 

In his comments during the meeting, Ford said he had initially come in with an "absolute no" because he was worried about Smith's connections to gangs, but was persuaded by testimony that was no longer an issue. He drew attention to Smith's understanding that he made decisions, not mistakes, which showed a level of consciousness and true remorse, as well as the community support for Smith.

Ford shared a personal experience about how his father used to beat him in a similar way that Smith's father did and that generational trauma carries consequences. 

"In my estimation, justice does not require a consecutive 20 to life on a gun enhancement after, especially [the] Legislature has indicated that that wasn't a good idea," he said. "I don't believe mercy is ever deserved. And so the question is: Is it fitting here, based on what I've heard? And I do believe mercy is fitting."

The state had no opposition to concurrent time and took no position on sentencing. No victims or people connected to victims spoke at the meeting.

The Ford campaign also provided The Nevada Independent with data on the votes Lombardo and Ford cast on the board of pardons while serving together. 

The data shows that both officers voted the same way on motions surrounding 210 of 240 logged clemency applications where both were marked as present. There were 14 times when Lombardo voted no on a board-made motion when Ford voted yes. There were also 10 instances when Lombardo or Ford's votes were not assessed or cast, and six instances when Lombardo voted yes and Ford voted no.

Approaching Election Day

The ads are playing a major role in the closing chapter of the Nevada governor's race, which is expected to be one of the closest in the country.

Data from AdImpact as of Saturday shows the Better Nevada PAC ad has generated more than 581,000 impressions and more than $1.4 million in spending since it first aired Oct. 12.

Another ad, which began airing Friday, highlighted one of the clemency votes for someone who had participated in what prosecutors called a "thrill killing." AdImpact shows the ad has at least $60,000 behind it.

Dobbins, Lombardo's spokesperson, described the situation as clear to voters.

"Gov. Joe Lombardo's commitment to public safety was earned over decades on the front lines wearing the badge and his record of putting dangerous criminals behind bars, standing up for victims, and protecting Nevada families," she said.

The issue has also bled into Northern Nevada's 2nd Congressional District race.

An ad from Republican candidate David Flippo points out that while his Democratic opponent, former Assm. Teresa Benitez-Thompson, was Ford's chief of staff, the office supported releasing six murderers from prison. In that role, she only ran the administrative side of the office and was not a member of the board.

AdImpact shows the ad had hundreds of impressions.

Ford recently told the Nevada Current he was being unfairly criticized over the issue, pointing to President Donald Trump's pardons and Lombardo's support of Trump.

"It's the height of hypocrisy," Ford told the Current. "It's also politics."