EKB News

Lt Gov. Steve Pence stated today that the governor's ability to issue pardons should be limited in the future so legal scrutiny can't be skirted. Pence told the Lexington Herald that “clearly, the pardons that are pre-emptive - where you don't know the name of the person or the charges against that person - are very problematic” In August 2005, Gov. Ernie Fletcher pardoned everyone other than himself who could be charged in a state hiring investigation. A Franklin County special grand jury returned 29 indictments in the case, and Fletcher was charged with three misdemeanors that were later dropped in a deal with prosecutors. The grand jury's report released last month said Fletcher approved a "widespread and coordinated plan" that ignored hiring laws and put the governor's supporters into protected rank-and-file state jobs. Pence, a former federal prosecutor, withdrew from Fletcher's re-election efforts this summer, but did not say whether the move was because of the investigation.