According to the secretary of state's website, as many as 161 pardons and 419 commutations of sentences were filed on December 11, including commutations for 336 people who were serving sentences solely for drug related charges.
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That list of pardons includes Blake Walker, who was convicted in 2003 of killing his parents; Kurt Smith, who as a teenager was found guilty of murdering his 6-week old son; Delmar Partin, who was convicted of beheading a woman and stuffing her in a barrel; and Kathy Ann Harless, who left her newborn baby to die in an outhouse.
The former Republican governor wrote in his executive order that Harless "has paid enough for her death of her new-born son."
Bevin pardoned and commuted the sentences of Dayton Jones, who was convicted in 2016 of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy; and Patrick Baker, who convicted of reckless homicide in 2017. The Courier Journal reported that Baker's family had held a fundraiser and donated to Bevin's gubernatorial campaigns. Baker served two years of a 19-year sentence, while his co-defendants are still in prison, the newspaper reported.
The former governor did the same for Micah Schoettle, convicted last year of raping a child and sentenced to 23 years in prison.
"Micah Schoettle was tried and convicted of a heinous crime based only on testimony that was not supported by any physical evidence," Bevin wrote in his executive order signed December 9. "In fact, any and all evidence that is available, refutes the allegations that were made." He added that the case was investigated and prosecuted in a "manner that was sloppy at best."