LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Kansans who were denied pardons by Gov. Sam Brownback in 2011 ranged from convicted murderers to alleged traffic law violators.
Brownback denied all 39 pardon requests last year.
The Lawrence Journal-World submitted an open records request to Brownback’s office, which provided the letters from the governor’s office to pardon applicants.
The Kansas Prison Review Board, which reviews pardons before sending them to the governor, denied the open records request for the full pardon applications, citing an exemption in the Kansas Open Records Act.
The pardon requests include 10 people convicted of murder or manslaughter and a 63-year-old Wichita man who says he was wrongly convicted of a right-of-way traffic violation. Eddie Mendia operates the nonprofit Homeless Search Corp., and says he was pulled over because of his Mexican heritage.
