A former Garnett man, convicted of felony child molestation in 2010, has applied to Governor Laura Kelly for clemency. Fifty year old Michael Tate Presley, presently being held at the Kansas Department of Corrections facility in Norton, was convicted in August 2010 of aggravated indecent liberties with a 13 year old victim, stemming from incidents in the Summer of 2009. He is serving a sentence of 25 years to life.
Clemency is a request for a reduction or abolition of sentencing and in Kansas can only be granted by the Governor. Governor Kelly granted eight clemency requests last year— a rarity in Kansas since the State’s past four governors, all together, granted only nine requests.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas filed numerous clemency requests on behalf of Kansas inmates during the COVID pandemic. The organization no longer conducts its clemency project, but provides an online tool kit for inmates or their families hoping to file requests.
