FACT CHECK: Ford Campaign Tries to Dismiss Aaron Ford's Role in Sponsoring a Criminal

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 30, 2026

Aaron Ford's campaign is in full damage control, trying to call it a "lie" that he tried to help a convicted criminal who murdered a woman and her unborn child get out of prison early. The public record and facts tell a different story.

The truth was Ford was the only one who personally sponsored Norman Smith's plea to be eligible for parole. For reference, Norman Smith was facing 14 counts, including attempted murder and armed robbery, in a gang-related scheme that targeted tourists on the Las Vegas Strip. Smith was out on a $160,000 bail when he shot and killed Tinesha Adams, who was pregnant. The Courts have already ruled against Smith's plea, with the Nevada Supreme Court rejecting his appeal in 2021, and the Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a sentence modification in 2024.

Nevada's Pardons Board only hears an application once a member sponsors it. Without Ford, Smith's request would not have been brought forward to the Pardon Board hearing.

FORD CAMPAIGN CLAIM: Sponsoring an application is "standard" and just checks "on the progress of an inmate."

FACT: If sponsorship were routine, Ford would do it routinely. According to a Fox News Digital review of the 2026 Pardons Board agendas, Smith's was "the only commutation request Ford sponsored all year." So Ford picked one case out of every application waiting in line, and it belonged to a gang member who shot and killed a 20-year-old pregnant woman while he was out on bail for armed robberies of tourists. The campaign refuses to say why Ford personally chose this as the case to put up for a clemency vote.

KLAS also reported that the District Attorney’s office stated that “In this Office’s experience, such sponsorship has never been treated as a merely routine or ministerial step. Rather, sponsorship reflects an affirmative determination by a Board member that the inmate’s application warrants consideration by the Board.” This in fact proves that sponsorship is neither standard nor a means to check on the progress of an inmate.

FORD CAMPAIGN CLAIM: The prosecutor supported a change to Smith's robbery sentence.

FACT: At first, Ford's office told 8 News Now that Ford put the case on the agenda "after receiving a letter of support from the prosecutor." Then 8 News verified the prosecutor's letter to the Pardons Board, and it doesn't appear to support Smith's request at all. It describes the crime and notes that Adams' family "filled the gallery each and every day of the trial." Ford's office then said it had meant a different letter, written a year earlier for the Parole Board. Ford doesn't sit on the Parole Board, and his office hasn't released that letter. This is the fourth version of the story.

FORD CAMPAIGN CLAIM: Ford missed the hearing because of a family emergency.

FACT: On September 16, the day of the hearing, a tracker filmed Ford at the airport arriving back from a trip to Arizona at 3 PM. When asked about Smith, Ford said, "Uhh, don't know which one you're talking about, but anyway - good to see you," and walked away.

The Pardon Board meeting was STILL ongoing at that time, so he was back in Las Vegas in time to make it to the meeting. Instead, Ford attended a campaign event.

FORD CAMPAIGN CLAIM: Ford "would have voted no."

FACT: Ford made that statement after the board rejected Smith, after he had skipped the vote, and after the story became public. If Ford really opposed clemency, his office wouldn't have personally signed on as the sponsor. So far, Aaron Ford has said nothing publicly on his position.

The questions Ford still won't answer:

1. What made the Norman Smith case special enough for Aaron Ford to personally sponsor the clemency hearing?

2. What about the victim, the convicted killer, or the case drew his personal interest?

3. Will Aaron Ford ensure other inmates' families get the same attention?

"Tineshea Adams was 20 years old and five months pregnant. She left behind a 2-year-old son. Nevadans deserve an answer about why their Attorney General decided to personally sponsor a pardon review for a man convicted of killing a pregnant woman and put her killer's case in front of the Pardons Board, and they are still waiting for one. The Ford campaign's attempt to rewrite history is just a case in point of his failed leadership and priority of putting victims over criminals. What someone does when they think no one is watching reveals their character. A question for all Nevadans: Is that who you want your governor to be?”

–Halee Dobbins, Lombardo for Governor Spokesperson

This is a pattern of Ford supporting soft-on-crime policies:

· Ford helped craft AB 236, a law that weakened penalties for larger amounts of drug possession, including fentanyl.

· This legislation also weakened penalties for retail theft, raising the threshold for felony theft from $650 to $1,200, fueling the rise in organized crime.

· Ford has refused to condemn the anti-cop rhetoric and reject the defund the police movement.

· Ford was also caught fabricating endorsements from law enforcement officers and groups in a political ad. The LVPPA group later sent a cease-and-desist letter to Ford over his false endorsement ad.

· At an April 2025 event in New York City hosted by Al Sharpton and his National Action Network, Ford joined New York Attorney General Letitia James on a panel where he defended DEI initiatives and told the audience to "stay woke."