Kelly Awarding Pardons at Higher Rates

By Anna Kaminski, Kansas Reflector

TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is awarding clemency at a higher rate than her predecessors, most recently pardoning two men convicted of drug crimes who “show strong signs of rehabilitation” and have already served their time in prison.

Kelly granted pardons Friday to Richard McMichael and Anthony Mitchell, whose crimes are separated by more than a decade. Their applications were evaluated based on a number of factors, including their offenses, criminal histories and time spent in prison. 

“One of the largest factors taken into consideration is a person’s commitment to rehabilitation, making amends, and positively contributing to society,” Kelly said in a news release. “Granting these pardons will give a second chance to two individuals who have taken responsibility for their actions and are working to move on with their lives.”  

Before Kelly’s administration, granting clemency was rare. 

Earlier in November, Kelly granted clemency to six men and a woman, pardoning five of them and commuting the sentences of two. In 2021, she pardoned three and commuted sentences for five out of 200 applications. In November alone, she has issued the same number of pardons as her four predecessors combined during their gubernatorial tenures. 

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, pardoned one person before resigning in 2009. Gov. Mark Parkinson, a Democrat, pardoned four people. In 2017, Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican, pardoned one man. Gov. Jeff Colyer, a Republican, in 2019 pardoned a man and a woman and commuted a sentence for a woman while denying 21 other applications before leaving office.

Kelly’s recent announcement brings her clemency total to 10 pardons and seven commutations.

McMichael pleaded guilty in 2018 in Douglas County to charges related to dealing alprazolam, more commonly known by its brand name Xanax, possessing drug paraphernalia, and aggravated battery, according to court records. He served his five-year sentence and was released in March. 

The governor said MicMichael’s pardon was warranted because of his “exemplary conduct while incarcerated, educational and occupational success, and his return to life as a law-abiding citizen.”

She added that he “has paid his debt to society and shown that he is deserving.”

Mitchell was convicted in 2005 in Wyandotte County District Court for cocaine possession. He served a year of probation, and in 2010, the conviction was expunged from his criminal record. 

According to the governor’s signed pardon, Mitchell’s application showed evidence of deserving a pardon “through good conduct in the intervening 19 years since his last conviction.”

Granting clemency, an executive power embedded in the Kansas Constitution, involves “meticulous and thorough” evaluations from the three-member state Prison Review Board, the Kansas Department of Administration and the governor’s legal team, the governor said.

The governor is under no set timeline to grant clemency, and her review of applications is “ongoing,” according to the announcement.

Launched in July 2020, Kansas Reflector is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. Kansas Reflector retains full editorial independence.