Several days ago we reported some very questionable pardons being issued by Kentucky’s former Governor, Matt Bevin, on his way out the door.
Now it is being reported the FBI is looking into some of these pardons to ensure they are all on the up and up.
Questionable Pardons
Issuing pardons on the way out is a tradition for governors and presidents.
Bevin, however, appears to have abused this tradition by putting pardons up for sale.
One out of the hundreds of pardons issued by Bevin was Micah Schoettle.
Schoettle was convicted of raping a 9-year-old little girl but he served less than two years of his 23-year sentence.
Prosecutor Rob Sanders stated, “I was shocked to hear that he was even considering a pardon for Micah Schoettle, much less granting one.
“This was a very, very lengthy case that was litigated heavily. … To hear that he was basically erasing all the work that we had done was just shocking.”
Bevin recently defended this pardon, stating, “If you have been repeatedly sexually violated as a small child by an adult, there are going to be repercussions of that physically and medically.”
That statement, however, completely contradicts a 2012 child sexual abuse study that claimed “approximately 90% of the child victims of abuse do not show evidence of physical damage.”
Sanders would go on to say, “This isn’t a Democrat prosecutor coming after a Republican governor.
“I was a supporter of Matt Bevin’s, but what he has done is just absolutely wrong.
“The problem is he’s granted hundreds of pardons to people with little or no research into who they are, what they did, or whether or not they’ve turned their lives around and are worthy of a pardon.”
This is not the only questionable pardon, either.
Another man was pardoned after being convicted of murder.
In that case, Bevin received thousands of dollars in donations from family members of the murderer.
Thankfully, the FBI is reportedly ramping up an investigation into these pardons.
Kentucky State Rep. Chris Harris stated, “I can confirm that I have been contacted by someone looking into the pardons that were issued by Gov. Bevin on his way out the door.
“The impression I got is that there was an investigation ramping up.”
The FBI, when reached for comment, stated that it will “neither confirm nor deny the existence of said investigation.”