Pardon Board recommends pardons for multiple applicants, denies several amid law-enforcement opposition and cleansing-period practice

BATON ROUGE, La. — The Pardon Board met Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, and after a full docket recommended clemency to Governor Landry for a number of applicants while denying others.

The board heard more than two dozen applications for full pardons and, in many cases, restoration of firearms rights. Members applied a consistent practice they described multiple times during the meeting: they prefer to see roughly a 10-year period free of supervision or other incidents after an applicant's sentence before recommending restoration of firearm privileges. Chair Rossell opened the session and the board adopted a 3-minute speaking rule for the public docket to manage time.

Several applicants with long periods of documented rehabilitation received recommendations. The board voted to recommend pardons with firearms-restoration for Aaron McCollister, Vincent L. Molinario, Nicole Amol Saint Romain, Marshall Watford, Bryson Bennett, Sharonda Adams, Brandon McDaniel, Jack Parker, Jason M. Lovell and others. For example, members cited McCollister's lengthy period of work and sobriety and Molinario's long record of community service in recommending both applicants.

Other applications were denied or failed to reach the four favorable votes the board requires. The board denied Abi Higginbotham's application after discussing competing evidence about reimbursement and audit records and noting explicit opposition from local law enforcement; members noted the application did not meet the board's usual interval since supervision ended. Bradley Wax's application was also denied after members said the original allegations were serious and the district attorney's office registered opposition, even while counsel urged that forensic reports undermined the State's underlying theories.

Board members repeatedly framed votes as distinct choices among three things: (1) whether the applicant had completed rehabilitation and any required restitution; (2) whether the record showed recent red flags or active opposition by law enforcement; and (3) whether the board's customary 10-year post-supervision period had been met. "We generally like to see a 10-year cleansing period after you finish with the sentence," the chair told one applicant; several panelists reiterated that standard as the reason for denying or postponing votes.

Votes at a glance (selected outcomes)

- John (Bolen/Boland): Recommended — full pardon with firearms restoration (recommendation to Gov. Landry). (see transcript: opening case; recommendation announced to Gov. Landry) - Abi Higginbotham: Denied — board cited law-enforcement opposition and that the case fell short of the board's customary interval since supervision ended. - Blake Mondillo: Recommended — full pardon with firearms restoration. - Joseph Green: Recommended — full pardon with firearms restoration. - Bradley Wax: Denied — serious underlying charges and law-enforcement opposition; members said the plea and severity weighed against a recommendation today. - Aaron McCollister: Recommended — pardon with firearms restoration (unopposed in record). - Vincent L. Molinario: Recommended — pardon with firearms restoration (no expressed opposition in record). - Nicole Amol Saint Romain: Recommended — pardon with firearms restoration; members cited education and employment barriers caused by the conviction. - Marshall Watford: Recommended — pardon with firearms restoration (more than 10 years since last offense was a factor). - Bryson Bennett: Recommended — pardon with firearms restoration (victim and local law enforcement unopposed). - Sharonda Adams: Recommended — pardon with firearms restoration (board noted long rehabilitation and family/community support). - Brandon McDaniel: Recommended — pardon with firearms restoration (long period without new incidents). - Jack Parker: Recommended — pardon with firearms restoration (1978 conviction; board cited decades of good conduct). - Jason M. Lovell: Recommended — full pardon with firearms restoration (applicant reported an automatic first-offender pardon in 2001 and long law-abiding conduct; Arkansas officials had declined to renew a concealed-carry permit citing statute changes). - Daryl Byrd: Recommended — pardon with firearms restoration.

What the recommendations mean next

Board recommendations are advisory. Successful recommendations will be forwarded to Gov. Landry, who has the final authority to grant or deny pardons. The board emphasized that a recommendation from the panel does not itself restore legal firearms rights until the governor acts and any statutory processes (federal or state background checks, permit renewals) are completed.

Why some applicants were denied

When the board denied or postponed applications it most often cited one or more of these: active opposition from a district attorney or sheriff's office; the gravity of the original conviction; incomplete restitution or inconsistent records; or simply that the applicant had not awaited the board's usual 10-year period after supervision ended. The board's practice of a decade-long "cleansing" interval was invoked repeatedly as a consistency measure.

What board members and applicants said

- "We generally like to see a 10-year cleansing period after you finish with the sentence," one panelist said when explaining a denial. - In support of applicants, counsel and family members described rehabilitation, community service and barriers to employment or education that the convictions continue to create.

The meeting ran through a full docket of cases and concluded with the chair signing recommendations to be forwarded to the governor. The board adjourned after making recommendations and denying several applications; affected applicants were informed of their right to reapply.