FORD FACES QUESTIONS OVER CLEMENCY SPONSORSHIP FOR MAN CONVICTED IN KILLING OF PREGNANT WOMAN

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is facing new scrutiny over his decision to sponsor a commutation application for Norman Smith, a man convicted of voluntary manslaughter in the 2015 shooting death of a pregnant Las Vegas woman.

Fox News reported this week that Ford was listed as the sole sponsor of Smith’s application before the Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners for its September 16 meeting. Under the board’s process, an inmate’s clemency application remains in an administrative queue until a board member chooses to sponsor it, allowing the request to move forward for consideration.

Smith was serving a 10-to-39-year prison sentence stemming from three armed robbery convictions and the killing of 20-year-old Tinesha Antovia Adams, who was approximately 20 weeks pregnant when she was shot in the chest in a North Las Vegas parking lot in December 2015. At the time, Smith was out on bail after being arrested in connection with attacks and robberies involving tourists on the Las Vegas Strip. 

Smith was originally charged with murder and manslaughter of an unborn quick child. He was ultimately convicted of voluntary manslaughter in Adams’ death, according to Fox News’ review of court records. The Pardons Board denied his commutation request. 

The controversy intensified after Ford was approached at a Las Vegas airport on the same day as the clemency hearing and asked why he had sponsored Smith’s application. Video published by Fox News shows Ford saying he did not know which case the questioner was referring to before walking away without explaining his decision. 

Ford’s gubernatorial campaign later told Fox News that he missed the hearing because of an out-of-state family medical emergency and pushed back on the suggestion that sponsorship amounted to supporting Smith’s release.

“Pardon board members sponsoring clemency applications to check on the progress of an inmate is standard operating procedure and doesn’t mean a member will vote in favor of said application,” Ford campaign spokeswoman Prerna Jagadeesh told Fox News. 

Fox News reported that Smith’s application was the only commutation request sponsored by Ford during 2026, based on the outlet’s review of official meeting agendas. Ford’s campaign did not explain to the outlet why Smith’s case specifically was selected. 

The episode is now becoming part of the political battle surrounding Ford’s campaign for governor against Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo.

Better Nevada PAC spokesman John Burke sharply criticized Ford’s role in advancing the application.

“Apparently, Aaron Ford believes that cowardly criminals who kill pregnant women deserve leniency from our criminal justice system,” Burke said. “Ford owes Nevadans immediate answers for why he championed Norman Smith’s clemency bid after he ended the life of an expecting mother and her child.”

Ford’s campaign disputes the characterization that sponsorship meant he supported clemency for Smith, arguing instead that the procedural action merely placed the case before the board for review. The Board ultimately rejected Smith’s request, leaving his prison sentence in place.

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