When Governor Kate Brown leaves at the end of the year, conversations about her legacy will likely focus on the pandemic and the state’s response to it.

But there’s another story that hasn’t received as much attention – Brown’s record setting pace of commutations or pardons to incarcerated people.

In an interview with The Oregonian, Brown said, “While it is not a replacement for criminal justice reform the power of clemency can be used to address systemic failures while we work to make lasting change.

But not everyone is pleased.

On the latest episode of Beat Check, we catch up with Noelle Crombie, criminal justice reporter for The Oregonian and OregonLive.

We talked about why the governor has turned so aggressively to commutations and pardons, how she makes her decisions and what victims’ families think about the issue.

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices