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In his frenzied final days in office, Gov. Matt Bevin signed a flurry of pardons and commutations for more than 650 inmates. The Courier Journal was the first to report that a few went to felons whose politically connected families and backers had held fundraisers on Bevin's behalf or donated to his campaign. Bevin vehemently died any political influence in his orders and welcomed calls for an investigation into his decisions. The Courier Journal enlisted a team of reporters to dig into the data and examine Bevin's orders more closely. We published an eight-page special investigation Dec. 22 that pulled back the curtain on his decision-making process, explored the important role that faith and redemption played in his choices and detailed how people of color were largely left out.