Nevada’s Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford has avoided questions about his support for a clemency bid involving a convicted killer, Norman Smith. Smith, who killed a pregnant woman while on bail for armed robberies on Vegas tourists, saw his commutation application backed by Ford at a Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners meeting on September 16. State records list Ford as the sole sponsor for Smith’s application.
Despite Ford’s support, the clemency bid was denied. Ford did not attend the hearing and later avoided questions about his decision at a Las Vegas airport. Ford’s action coincides with his campaign against Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has criticized Ford’s public safety and criminal justice reform record.
A representative of Ford’s campaign indicated that Ford missed the hearing for a family medical emergency. They contended that sponsoring an application is a procedural move to bring a case before the Board of Pardons. However, the campaign did not clarify why Ford supported Smith’s case specifically.
In a recent encounter caught on video, a conservative tracker questioned Ford upon his arrival in Las Vegas. When asked if he was sponsoring Smith’s pardon, Ford responded ambiguously, then excused himself citing a personal visit to his son in Arizona.
Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners rules require an inmate’s clemency application to be sponsored by one of its nine members, including the governor, attorney general, and state Supreme Court justices, before it proceeds to a hearing and vote. Sponsoring Smith’s application pushed it from a queue to an official agenda item. Reviews of 2026 meeting agendas show it was Ford’s only clemency sponsorship that year.
In 2015, Smith was out on bail facing charges for armed robberies when he killed Tineshea Adams. Initially charged with murder, Smith was later convicted of voluntary manslaughter and armed robbery, now serving a 10-to-39-year sentence. Republican strategist Matt Gorman criticized Ford’s airport exit, arguing that Ford’s refusal to explain undermines his credibility to seek the governor’s office.
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