Why is Mark Taylor still in prison?
In late 2013 Lexington Kentucky resident Alex Johnson went missing. During the investigation, Timothy “Tiny” Ballard admitted to the kidnapping and killing of Mr. Johnson. Part of Ballard’s confession was a deal the authorities made with him at the time. Ballard would not be charged with murder in exchange for: (1) he would lead them to the body and (2) implicate Robert “Mark” Taylor as his accomplice and testify against him at trial. The outcome for the authorities would be that they had the body and someone to charge for the murder other than Ballard.
It was this deal that lead to the arrest of Robert “Mark” Taylor for the kidnapping and murder of his best friend, Alex Johnson. Mark has always maintained his innocence. But with Ballard ready to testify against him, Mark went on trial in 2016 for the murder. Timothy Ballard was the prosecution’s star witness. In return for his testimony against Mark, he received 25 years for kidnapping and tampering with evidence. Also, part of his deal was not being labeled as a “persistent felon”. Before murdering Johnson, Ballard was already a repeat felony offender who had been incarcerated most of his life. Prior to this, he had been convicted and sentenced to 25 years for kidnapping and robbery. While incarcerated he was convicted of drug contraband and 5 years was added to his sentence. Upon release, Ballard then went back to prison for 21 months for threatening to kill the President of the United States. By this time he was a persistent felon and wasn’t allowed parole.
In major contrast, prior to this, Mark Taylor had never been in trouble with the law.
Nevertheless, with Ballard’s testimony of committing the murder himself with Mark as his accomplice, Mark was found guilty and was sentenced to 49 years in prison for the murder.
About a year and a half into Mark’s sentence he received the document below in the mail from Timothy Ballard.
The man that put him in prison has now sent him a full confession exonerating him.
So why is Mark Taylor STILL in prison??
The below document is an affidavit that was written and dictated by Timothy Ballard to his lawyer and signed in front of a notary in December of 2017. As anyone can read, Ballard recants his testimony at trial. He states his perjury on the stand, getting his girlfriend to commit perjury, the coercion by the authorities, confesses to the murder and then relieves Mark of all culpability in the kidnapping and murder. Further, he is ready to take full responsibility for his actions.
Affidavit by Timothy Ballard
December 2017
I, Timothy Ballard, the Affiant herein, hereby states under the penalty of perjury, that Robert Taylor is not the person who killed Alex Johnson, nor did he participate in his kidnapping.
When Johnson got out of the car, I am the one who got out of the vehicle and put him back in the car over Robert Taylor‘s objections. I struck Johnson in the head with a broken baton that I carried around a few times until he stopped moving.
The statement I made about taking drugs and money from his apartment after switching cars to the small Sentra is not true. As proof: If the officers review the security footage of that night, they will see that there was never a Nissan Sentra that returned to the shop. It doesn’t fit the timeline.
The Commonwealth and the police promised me a really good deal if I just put it all on Taylor. So I did. I know that in my statement to police and even in my testimony during trial I stated the opposite. I just want to clear my conscience. I forced my girlfriend to make up a story about Taylor threatening us with a gun. It was not true. She has told me that she has come clean to police and now I need to. I cannot live my life knowing that I am the reason an innocent man is in prison. I just got scared when everything happened and I was just trying to get out of trouble. I did not intend to cause Johnson‘s death, he just shouldn’t have said that to me. I sincerely apologize to everyone for everything and I offer my condolences to the families.
I am aware that with the submission of this affidavit I could be prosecuted for perjury for knowingly lying in my statements to police and during the trial. I am willing to accept the consequences for my actions. I swear this is the true correct statement of the actual occurrences of that night.
So why is Mark Taylor STILL in prison?
The document below is a pardon memo for Robert “Mark” Taylor that was handwritten by former KY Governor Matt Bevin in November 2019. It was not filed with the Secretary of State’s office. The reason is unknown. Unofficially it’s been said that it was a “clerical error.”
Per Governor
11-18-19
6:00 pm
“From all that has been presented to me, including the sworn testimony of the actual guilty parties, it is evident that Robert “Mark” Taylor was wrongly convicted for a murder he did not commit. With the power vested in me as governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I am hereby commuting Mr. Taylor’s sentence to time served and granting him the full and unconditional pardon that he has requested.”
From the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
§77 Power of Governor to remit fines and forfeitures, grant reprieves and pardons — No power to remit fees.
“He shall have power to remit fines and forfeitures, commute sentences, grant reprieves and pardons, except in case of impeachment, and he shall file with each application therefor a statement of the reasons for his decision thereon, which application and statement shall always be open to public inspection. In cases of treason, he shall have power to grant reprieves until the end of the next session of the General Assembly, in which the power of pardoning shall be vested; but he shall have no power to remit the fees of the Clerk, Sheriff or Commonwealth’s Attorney in penal or criminal cases.”
Text as Ratified on: August 3, 1891, and revised September 28, 1891.
Affidavit from former Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin made on March 28, 2025.
“Comes now the Affiant, Matthew Bevin, and after being fully cautioned and sworn states as follows:
I am the 62″ governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
I hand-wrote Robert Mark Taylor a pardon, which can be found in the governor’s office records.
I instructed my staff to prepare a more formal format for the pardon.
With my consent, my staff wrote, “Per Governor, 11-18-19, 6:00 PM to authenticate the pardon.
I fully intended to pardon Mr. Taylor and the pardon should have been filed with the Kentucky Secretary of State.”
MATTHEW BEVIN
Affidavit from attorney M. Steve Pitt, general counsel for Governor Bevin during his administration who oversaw the pardon application process.
“Comes the Affiant, Mark Stephen Pitt, first being duly sworn, and states as follows:
I am a citizen of Kentucky, residing in Jefferson County.
I am a retired lawyer and have been a member of the Kentucky Bar Association for over fifty-three years.
After serving as an Assistant United States Attorney for over three and one-half years and as a Senior Trial Attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Public Integrity Section for approximately one and one-half years in the 1970s I joined the law firm of Tarrant, Combs & Bullitt (later Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP), Louisville, in 1977, where I became a partner and practiced for thirty-eight years until my retirement in 2015.
Upon my retirement from the private practice of law, and upon the election of Matt Bevin as Governor of Kentucky in 2015, I became his General Counsel, a position that I occupied until he left office in early December, 2019.
As Gov. Bevin’s General Counsel, it was part of my and my deputies’ jobs to review pardon applications and make recommendations to the Governor as to whether he should consider granting applications in certain instances.
I have been provided by a representative of Petitioner herein a copy of a form that I recognize as being used by Gov.
Bevin to grant pardons and on which he would generally hand-write the substantive language used to pardon an applicant. This form appears to pertain to Petitioner herein, Robert Mark Taylor, and is appended hereto as Exh. A. Gov.
Bevin was very hands-on in the pardon process and invariably reviewed every part of a pardon application and hand-wrote the basis and reasons for each pardon he granted.
Given the passage of time and the number of pardons granted by Gov. Bevin during his term of office, I do not personally remember the pardon application of Petitioner Taylor. In reviewing Exh. A, however, I recognize a certain handwritten notation contained thereon :”Per Governor, 11-18-19, 6:00 pm.” That notation appears to be in my handwriting and indicates the Governor had pardoned Petitioner and returned the pardon form to my office.
There is also handwritten language near the bottom of Exh. A that I believe to be that of Gov. Bevin whereby he commutes the sentence then being served by Petitioner and grants him a full and unconditional pardon. The box on Exh. A labeled “PARDON” contains an “X.”
It was the practice of Gov. Bevin to personally write the actual language of the pardons on forms like Exh. A and to then forward the forms to my office, either to me, one of my deputies or our office assistant/secretary. Upon review, the forms would typically be given to our assistant/secretary for typing and the Governor’s signature and filing with the Secretary of State.
I have been advised by a representative of Petitioner that that there is no record of the pardon of Petitioner in the Secretary of State’s office.
While it has been customary over the years for pardons like that for Petitioner to be filed with the Secretary of State, I am not aware of any provision in the Kentucky Constitution, the statutes of Kentucky, or otherwise in state law requiring a signature by the Governor and filing with the Secretary of State in order for an otherwise provable pardon to be effective.
The foregoing is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Mark Stephen Pitt
Ask Governor Beshear to sign Mark Taylor’s pardon TODAY
(502) 564-2611
A new application for pardon has been submitted on Robert Mark Taylor’s behalf to current KY Governor Andy Beshear. Call Gov. Beshear and ask him to sign his pardon. You can call (502) 564-2611 or email him at this link. If you are asked, the pardon is on file with the General Counsel’s office and you can also point to this site for more info.
Thank you for your support,
Team Free Mark
For more information email freemarktaylor@gmail.com.
