Board of Pardons

The 2026 Pennsylvania gubernatorial race features Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro and Stacy Garrity, who face off in a contest with stakes tied to the state's divided legislature. The article details that the governor oversees critical functions like budget proposals and vetoing legislation, while the lieutenant governor presides over the State Senate. Key issues debated by the candidates include abortion rights, education funding, energy costs, and election rules.

Francis Clifford Smith died at age 101 in a Connecticut nursing facility, having been convicted for the shooting of Grover Hart decades earlier. Over his lifetime, he was scheduled to face execution eight times but was spared on each occasion while maintaining his innocence. Despite developments like recanting witnesses and repudiating statements by George Lowden, Smith never received a new trial.

Gov. Tim Walz defends his vote to pardon Tou Lue Vang, a man convicted of molesting a 10-year-old child, despite Vang's subsequent deportation. The pardon was approved by Walz, Attorney General Keith Ellison, and Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, with Walz citing victim advocacy as a key factor. Homeland Security criticized the pardon as an attempt to block deportation, but Walz argued it did not release Vang from his supervised probation sentence, completed in 2019.

Federal officials deported Tou Lue Vang, a pardoned child sex offender from Minnesota, after revoking his legal status. Marco Rubio announced the action, citing the removal of a threat to Americans.