Nevada AG Aaron Ford Voted to Make FBI Most Wanted ‘Thrill Killer’ Eligible for Parole

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford voted last year to grant a reduced sentence to Tony Ray Amati, a convicted murderer once placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list and described by prosecutors as a “thrill killer,” according to reporting first highlighted by Victor Joecks of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

In a social media post, Joecks noted that Amati made the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list in 1998 for a Las Vegas shooting considered a “thrill killing,” and that Ford voted in 2025 to make him eligible for parole. “This is what soft-on-crime looks like,” Joecks wrote.

In 1998, Tony Ray Amati made the FBI's 10 Most Wanted List for a shooting in Las Vegas. It was considered a "thrill killing."

In 2025, @AaronDFordNV voted to release him on parole.

This is what soft-on-crime looks like. pic.twitter.com/IRfS0QYqdL

— Victor Joecks (@VictorJoecks) October 15, 2026

Amati, also known as “The Thrill Killer,” was linked to three murders in the 1990s and spent two years as a fugitive after the FBI added him to its Most Wanted list. He was later convicted in the 1996 killing of a Pizza Hut worker in Las Vegas. 

Court records and witness accounts state that Amati and accomplices “cackled” and laughed as he repeatedly shot the victim in the back. The district attorney described the crime as a thrill killing committed “for the mere pleasure of it.” 

When Amati’s case came before the Nevada Board of Pardons Commissioners in June 2025, Ford voted in favor of making him immediately eligible for parole. The board’s decision did not guarantee release.

The Lombardo campaign highlighted the vote as part of a broader pattern. A recent Fox News Digital review of pardon board records found that Ford, as a member of the board, has voted to pardon or significantly reduce the sentences of 30 people convicted of murder during his tenure as attorney general.

Ford also supported clemency for Arlander Givens, who beat his victim to death with a cinder block and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms, though the board ultimately denied that application. Other convicted killers Ford voted to grant clemency included a murderer involved in a carjacking, a man who stabbed a 17-year-old to death over a basketball game, and another who lured his victim into his home with the promise of a drug deal before shooting him dead. In several of these cases, Lombardo, who also sits on the board, voted against leniency.

The Amati revelation adds to ongoing backlash of Ford’s record on criminal justice as he challenges Lombardo in the 2026 governor’s race. As the California Globe previously reported, Ford was a key architect of Assembly Bill 236, the 2019 criminal justice overhaul that raised the felony theft threshold from $650 to $1,200 and reduced penalties for certain drug and property crimes. Critics, including Lombardo, a former Clark County sheriff, have argued the changes weakened accountability and contributed to rising organized retail theft and other public safety concerns.

The Globe has also documented Ford’s progressive criminal justice positions, his refusal to answer questions about defunding the police, and his extensive out-of-state travel while serving as attorney general, noting that these issues have become central lines of attack in the race against Lombardo 

In a statement, the pro-Lombardo Better Nevada PAC said Ford’s votes on clemency for individuals like Amati demonstrate “a complete lack of regard for the victims of violent crime” and “a disturbing lack of basic common sense.” The campaign argued that anyone who supports early release for a thrill killer “should never be Governor of Nevada.”

Ford’s campaign has previously defended his approach to criminal justice by emphasizing rehabilitation and reentry alongside punishment. It has also pushed back on related attacks involving other pardon board matters, including Ford’s sponsorship of a clemency bid for Norman Smith, who was convicted of killing a pregnant woman while out on bail for armed robberies. Ford’s office has said he would have voted against clemency in that case.

The race remains competitive, with both candidates emphasizing public safety and cost-of-living issues in the final weeks before the November election. Early voting in Nevada begins October 17.