Fury erupts as Nevada’s Democrat AG sponsors pardon bid for killer of pregnant woman, unborn child after just seven years in prison

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford sponsored a clemency application for Norman Smith, convicted of killing a pregnant woman in a Las Vegas convenience store parking lot in 2015, according to Daily Mail, which cited state records showing Ford as the sole sponsor of Smith’s commutation application at a September 16 Nevada Board of Pardons meeting. Smith had been out on bail for armed robbery attempts against Las Vegas Strip tourists when the killing occurred.  

The board ultimately denied the clemency bid, and Ford skipped the hearing, later avoiding a reporter’s questions at a Las Vegas airport. His campaign said he missed the hearing due to an out-of-state family emergency and called sponsorship a routine procedural step, without explaining why he elevated Smith’s case. Ford is running for governor against Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo.