Kentucky

Kentucky lawmaker points to Biden pardons as reason to limit governor powers

Published

1 year ago

February 7, 2025

Kentucky lawmaker points to Biden pardons as reason to limit governor powers

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky lawmaker is hoping his quest to limit the pardon powers of governors in his state has received a jolt of momentum from public attention over the flurry of pardons and commuted sentences granted by former President Joe Biden before leaving office.

“Even though this obviously won’t affect anything federally, it really brings to light what is the nature of the power,” Republican state Sen. Chris McDaniel said Friday.

His proposal would amend Kentucky’s constitution to restrict the power of governors to issue pardons and commutations near the end of their terms. That authority would be suspended during the 60 days before a gubernatorial election and the time between the election and inauguration.

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The proposed constitutional change easily cleared the Kentucky Senate on Friday with bipartisan support. It now goes to the House, where similar measures died in recent years. Republicans have supermajorities in both legislative chambers. If it wins House passage, the proposal would be placed on the 2026 general election ballot for statewide voters to decide the matter.

The measure is a response to what happened at the end of the last Republican governor’s term in the Bluegrass State. During his final weeks in office, then-Gov. Matt Bevin issued more than 600 pardons and commutations — several of them stirring outrage from victims or their families, prosecutors and lawmakers. Bevin lost his 2019 reelection bid to Democrat Andy Beshear, who is now in his second term.

Bevin’s pardons dominated headlines for months in Kentucky. The Courier Journal in Louisville earned a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of Bevin’s actions. And fallout from the pardons continues. Last August, a man pardoned by Bevin was charged with attacking a woman with a knife, according to media reports.

In another high-profile case, a man pardoned by Bevin for a drug-related homicide conviction in state court was later given a 42-year federal sentence for the same death. The man’s family had political connections to Bevin, having hosted a fundraiser for the Republican.

In a new twist, McDaniel is trying to stoke support for his measure by pointing to Biden’s actions.

Before leaving office, the Democratic president converted the sentences of 37 federal death row inmates to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The inmates include people convicted in the slayings of police and military officers. Supporters of Republican Donald Trump criticized the move. Biden also commuted several thousand sentences for people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses and people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic.

Biden pardoned his son Hunter, not just for his convictions on federal gun and tax violations but for any potential federal offense committed over an 11-year period, out of fear that Trump allies would seek to prosecute his son for other offenses.

In a recent new release touting his bill, McDaniel berated Biden for a “disgraceful abuse of executive power.” The release included links to news article about Biden’s pardons for relatives and his action to commute the sentence of Indigenous activist Leonard Peltier. It allowed Peltier to transition to home confinement nearly half a century after he was imprisoned for the killings of two FBI agents.

“Kentucky cannot address the abuse of presidential powers, but we can take meaningful steps to strengthen trust in our executive branch powers,” McDaniel said.

Unmentioned in the release was Trump’s actions. Just before midnight on the final night of his first term, Trump signed a flurry of pardons and commutations. On his return to the White House this year, Trump pardoned his supporters who violently stormed the Capitol four years ago.

During his remarks on the Senate floor Friday, McDaniel said the pardon powers in Kentucky allow a governor to “override the judgment” of the entire judicial system. McDaniel said his measure would make governors more accountable by suspending that power before and after an election.

“There will be no more hiding in the darkness of the last minutes of an administration,” McDaniel said. “There will be no more allowing the rich and powerful to influence the scales of justice without recourse from the citizens of the commonwealth.”

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Kentucky

No. 2 seed Iowa State shuts down No. 7 Kentucky in 82-63 NCAA tourney victory

Published

12 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

No. 2 seed Iowa State shuts down No. 7 Kentucky in 82-63 NCAA tourney victory

ST. LOUIS — Tamin Lipsey knew he had to step up for Iowa State with All-America forward Joshua Jefferson sitting on the bench, his sprained left ankle still encased in a boot, as the Cyclones played Kentucky on Sunday for a spot in the Sweet 16.

Lipsey, who grew up in the shadows of the Iowa State campus in Ames, answered with the finest game of his four-year career.

The senior guard poured in a career-high 26 points, tied a career high with 10 assists, and led a suffocating defense that shut down the Wildcats in the second half, allowing the second-seeded Cyclones to pull away for an 82-63 victory in the NCAA Tournament.

“All the guys knew we had to step up in different ways,” Lipsey said, “however that presented to us.”

Lipsey didn’t do it alone, of course — he needed someone scoring to pile up all those assists. Milan Momcilovic scored 20 points and Nate Heise, getting the start in Jefferson’s place, added 12 to help the Cyclones (29-7) advance to a Midwest Region semifinal against either third-seeded Virginia or No. 6 seed Tennessee on Friday night in Chicago.

It will be the eighth Sweet 16 trip for the Cyclones and the third under T.J. Otzelberger, though the question now is whether they will be whole for it. Jefferson, their second-leading scorer and top rebounder, is scheduled to have an MRI exam on Monday.

“We’ll see how that goes and take it from there,” Otzelberger said.

Kentucky (22-14) jumped to a 20-9 lead in the opening minutes Sunday before Iowa State fought back to take a 31-30 halftime lead.

The Wildcats were still within 46-40 with 13½ minutes to play when the Cyclones forced three of the Wildcats’ 20 turnovers in quick succession. They converted all three into baskets at the other end, part of a decisive 13-1 run, which not only allowed Iowa State to seize control but also seemed to finally deflate Kentucky.

The Wildcats had been buzzing after a buzzer-beater from Otega Oweh forced overtime in a first-round victory over Santa Clara.

“We had a tough time finding baskets and more importantly we had a real tough time getting a stop,” Kentucky coach Mark Pope said. “They shot 50 percent in the second half from 3, and they played really well. You’re not going to win games when you give up 51 in the second half, and there’s a lot of reasons that happened.”

Oweh followed up his 35-point performance against the Broncos with 18 against the Cyclones, playing most of the second half in foul trouble. Denzel Aberdeen led the Wildcats with 20 points, though the pair of guards didn’t get a whole lot more help.

“We didn’t play fully hard for the full 40 minutes,” Aberdeen said, “and we had to do a better job.”

For two teams that can score in bunches, there was little elegance for much of their first matchup since the 2012 NCAA tourney, when the Wildcats beat Iowa State in the second round on their way to winning the national championship.

The Cyclones missed their first 11 tries from beyond the 3-point arc. Kentucky had 12 turnovers in the first half.

“We got a little disoriented,” Pope said, “and that’s what Iowa State does. They increased their pressure and we turned it over 12 times in the first half, and kind of contributed to our own demise.”

Iowa State eventually began driving to the basket and picking up fouls, and generated offense from the free-throw line until its shots started to fall. That began just before the break, and Heise’s buzzer-beating 3 gave the Cyclones a 31-30 advantage.

They went on to outscore Kentucky 51-33 after halftime to coast into the semifinals of the Midwest Region.

“We knew we had to be at our best. I’m proud of our guys,” Otzelberger said. “Felt like the game didn’t start the way we’d like but on defense, our pressure as the game wore on paid dividends for us. We generated turnovers and scored off our defense.”

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Iowa State and Virginia have split four previous meetings, though the Cavaliers won the most recent matchup and the only one in the NCAA Tournament. The Cavaliers cruised 84-71 in the Sweet 16 on March 25, 2016, before losing to Syracuse in the Elite Eight.

The Cyclones beat Tennessee during the 1969 season but they’ve lost the last two to the Volunteers, the first during a tournament in December 1977 and the most recent on January 27, 2018, during the Big 12-SEC Challenge.

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Kentucky

Who is Otega Oweh’s brother of Kentucky basketball star?

Published

1 day ago

March 22, 2026

Press Room

Who is Otega Oweh’s brother of Kentucky basketball star?

Kentucky basketball will be back in action on Sunday in the Round of 32 against Iowa State thanks to the heroics of guard Otega Oweh.

Oweh hit the game-tying buzzer-beater against Santa Clara in the first round, sending the game to overtime. The Wildcats ultimately won 89-84.

The back-to-back Second Team All-SEC selection comes from an athletic family. His brother, Odafe Oweh, plays in the NFL, recently signing a free agent deal with the Washington Commanders. Oweh played college football at Penn State, and he was a first-round pick in 2021.

He previously played for the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers, earning All-Rookie Team honors in 2021.

The younger Oweh led Kentucky to the Sweet 16 last season, and thanks to his clutch shot on Friday, UK is playing for a shot at a return trip to the tournament’s second weekend.

This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Who is Otega Oweh’s brother who plays in NFL?

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Kentucky

Game time set for Iowa State vs. Kentucky in March Madness second round

Published

2 days ago

March 21, 2026

Press Room

Game time set for Iowa State vs. Kentucky in March Madness second round

Iowa State men’s basketball will play Kentucky in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament in St. Louis, Missouri, on Sunday, March 22.

The No. 2-seed Cyclones (28-7) are coming off a 108-74 win over Tennessee State. The No. 7-seed Wildcats (22-13) are coming off a thrilling 89-84 win over No. 10-seed Santa Clara, which featured a buzzer-beating logo 3-pointer by Kentucky to send the game into overtime.

Check below for the need-to-know game information for Iowa State’s first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament:

Buy Iowa State NCAA tournament tickets vs. Kentucky