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FIRST ON FOX: Nevada’s Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford is refusing to explain why he personally backed a clemency bid for a convicted killer who took the life of a pregnant woman while out on bail for a series of armed robbery attacks on Vegas tourists, dodging questions on camera as he campaigns to be the state’s next governor.
State records in Nevada show Ford was listed as the sole sponsor for Norman Smith’s commutation application at a Sept. 16 Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners meeting. Smith was serving time for killing a pregnant woman in a convenience store parking lot—a crime committed while he was out on bail for a series of armed robbery attempts committed against Vegas Strip tourists, according to court documents and local reporting at the time.
Despite Ford’s backing, the board ultimately denied the clemency bid, while Ford skipped the commutation hearing that was scheduled and later walked away from a questioner asking him to justify the decision to sponsor Smith’s application at a Las Vegas airport.
Ford’s sponsorship of the convicted killer’s early release bid comes as he mounts a gubernatorial run against Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who has repeatedly attacked the attorney general’s record on public safety and criminal justice reform.
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Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford smiles during his governor campaign kick off event at the East Las Vegas Community Center Monday, July 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
When confronted about the sponsorship, Ford’s campaign told Fox News Digital the attorney general missed the hearing due to an out-of-state family medical emergency and argued that sponsoring an application is merely a routine procedural step allowing the Board of Pardons to decide on a specific clemency request—but the campaign repeatedly refused to explain why Ford chose to elevate Smith’s specific case.
“Are you Aaron Ford?” a conservative tracker asked the gubernatorial candidate as he deplaned in Las Vegas after flying to Arizona, the same day as Smith’s Sept. 16 commutation hearing.
“I am,” Ford replied to the tracker, who went on to tell the Nevada Attorney General that she has been “following his stuff” on social media. “Nice to meet you.”
The tracker continued with small talk until pivoting to a question about the decision to sponsor Smith’s clemency bid.
“I have a question, are you—you’re sponsoring Norman Smith’s pardon, right?”
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“Uhh, don’t know which one you’re talking about, but anyway—good to see you,” Ford responded before shuffling away with his wife following their trip to visit their college-aged son who was said to be sick. Fox News Digital pressed Ford’s team on what his son was facing in terms of an ailment but was not provided an answer.
“Is there a reason why you’re pardoning him?” Ford was asked as he attempted to skirt away from the questioner.
“Good to see you,” was Ford’s response before walking away. “Take care.”
“No reason?” the tracker doubled down.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford and his wife are pictured at a Vegas airport departing their plane on Sept. 16, the same date as Norman Smith’s clemency hearing. (Fox News.)
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Under Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners rules, an inmate’s clemency application sits in a queue until one of the board’s nine members—which includes the governor, attorney general, and state Supreme Court justices—chooses to officially sponsor it. By sponsoring Smith’s application, Ford elevated the case out of the administrative queue and onto the official state agenda for a full hearing and vote.
Based on a Fox News Digital review of official meeting agendas from 2026, Smith’s application was the only commutation request sponsored by Ford all year.
In 2015, Smith was free on bail and facing 14 charges in connection with a series of armed robbery attacks on Vegas Strip tourists when he shot and killed the pregnant woman, Tineshea Adams, according to court documents and reporting at the time from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Court documents show Smith, who was initially charged with murder but was eventually convicted of voluntary manslaughter and three counts of armed robbery, claimed the killing was the result of self-defense. Smith is currently serving a 10-to-39-year prison sentence.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford speaks during his governor campaign kick off event at the East Las Vegas Community Center on Monday, July 28, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Madeline Carter/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Republican political strategist Matt Gorman slammed Ford’s silent airport exit, telling Fox News Digital that the attorney general’s refusal to answer speaks volumes.
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“Aaron Ford was moving faster through that airport than the violent criminals he’s trying to put back on the street,” Gorman said. “If Nevada’s top law enforcement officer can’t even explain why he backed early release for a man who killed a pregnant woman while out on bail for a series of other violent crimes, he has no business asking voters to make him governor.”
