Op-ed by College of Law Professor Cortney E. Lollar Published in Kentucky Newspapers

University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law Professor Cortney E. Lollar recently authored an opinion piece, "Pardons show Matt Bevin’s compassion. These people are more than their crimes," published in The Courier-Journal on Dec. 16. 

To read the op-ed, visit: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2019/12/16/matt-bevin-pardons-show-his-compassion-and-mercifulness/2662033001/

“Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.”

I first heard that sentence in law school, from my professor Bryan Stevenson, and I’ve been thinking a lot about it after the avalanche of negative news stories about the pardons and commutations Matt Bevin issued in the final days of his governorship. Local and national media honed in on the vivid details of some of the unquestionably horrific crimes committed by a few of those with sentences commuted or convictions pardoned. Yet absent from the public narrative is any mention of the reality that everyone — not just those convicted of crimes, or those convicted of violent crimes, but all of us — are more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.

The op-ed also appeared in the Lexington Herald-Leader: https://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article238421473.html