LONDON, Ky. — Editor's Note: The above video is from June 2021.
A convicted killer pardoned by Kentucky’s former governor is returning to prison to serve a 42-year federal sentence.
A federal jury in eastern Kentucky convicted Patrick Baker of the murder of Donald Mills last August. According to court documents, Baker was charged with "willfully, deliberately, maliciously, and with premeditation and malice aforethought" killing Mills during "the perpetration of any robbery and kidnapping."
Baker was previously convicted of reckless homicide in the 2014 Knox County home invasion that resulted in Mills' death, however, his attorneys claimed Kentucky State Police framed him for the crime and he was pardoned by former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin in 2019. Baker’s family had political connections to Bevin, including hosting a fundraiser for the one-term governor.
Now, Baker is heading back to prison.
At a hearing Tuesday in U.S. District Court in London, Baker was sentenced to 42 years. He was facing a maximum of life in prison.
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