Facts & Research
Clemency
Clemency is the process by which a governor, president, or administrative board may reduce a defendant’s sentence or grant a pardon. Clemencies have been granted in death-penalty cases for a variety of reasons.
Facts & Research
Clemency is the process by which a governor, president, or administrative board may reduce a defendant’s sentence or grant a pardon. Clemencies have been granted in death-penalty cases for a variety of reasons.
All states and the federal government have a process for lowering the sentence or pardoning those facing criminal charges. Clemency is an especially important consideration for those on death row. Even after all appeals in the courts have been exhausted, there is still a possibility that the inmate’s life will be spared.
Clemencies in capital cases, however, have been rare. Aside from the occasional blanket grants of clemency by governors concerned about the overall fairness of the death penalty, less than two have been granted on average per year since 1976. In the same period, more than 1,500 cases have proceeded to execution. Among the reasons given for the granting of clemency in capital cases are: mental illness of the defendant, a co-defendant who was given a lesser sentence, and evidence that the defendant may have been wrongly convicted.
Because the power of clemency is vested in the executive branch of the government, courts have been reluctant to impose standards on this procedure. Governors are subject to political influence, and even granting a single clemency can result in harsh attacks. Hence, clemencies in death penalty cases have been unpredictable and immune from review.
Clemencies Granted by State since 1976 | Number of Clemencies |
---|---|
Illinois | 187 |
Ohio | 21 |
Oregon | 17 |
Virginia | 10 |
Georgia | 10 |
New Jersey | 8 |
Florida | 6 |
Maryland | 6 |
New Mexico | 5 |
North Carolina | 5 |
Oklahoma | 5 |
Kentucky | 4 |
Missouri | 4 |
Colorado | 3 |
Indiana | 3 |
Tennessee | 3 |
Texas | 3 |
Federal | 2 |
Louisiana | 2 |
Arkansas | 2 |
Alabama | 1 |
Delaware | 1 |
Idaho | 1 |
Montana | 1 |
Nevada | 1 |
U.S. Military | 1 |
TOTAL | 312 |
DPIC keeps track of all clemencies granted in capital cases in the modern era by state and year, including the reasons given for the action. It also has compiled material on historical uses of clemency. Finally, DPIC describes the differences among state laws regarding who makes the clemency decision and any constraints on the process.
Although a reprieve is technically a type of clemency, this page discusses only executive acts with permanent effects on a defendant’s conviction or sentence. Temporary holds on executions are tracked on our Outcome of Death Warrants pages.
Jan 20, 2021
Democratic members of the U.S. House and Senate have called on incoming President Joe Biden (pictured) to take quick action on his campaign pledge to end the federal death penalty. Legislators introduced three bills to abolish the…
Read MoreHuman Rights
May 19, 2023
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Capital Case Development
Apr 26, 2023
On April 26, the Oklahoma Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to recommend clemency for death-row prisoner Richard Glossip (pictured), who is scheduled to be executed on May 18, 2023. The board’s 2 – 2 vote constituted a denial of clemency since t…
Innocence
Jan 27, 2023
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has appointed a special counsel to conduct a ‘thorough review’ of the case of death-row prisoner Richard Glossip, who has faced nine execution dates despite strong evide…
Innocence
Jan 11, 2023
January 11, 2023 marks the twentieth anniversary of former Illinois Governor George Ryan’s decision to grant clemency to every death row prisoner in Illinois, the largest blanket clemency in the modern era of the death penalty. It was a watershed …
Mental Illness
Dec 27, 2022
On January 3, 2023, Missouri is set to execute Amber McLaughlin (pictured), the first transgender person scheduled to be put to death in the United States. Tried as Scott McLaughlin, her jury rejected thr…
Clemency
Dec 21, 2022
A Nevada judge has blocked a request from outgoing Governor Steve Sisolak (pictured) that the Nevada Pardons Board consider commuting all death sentences to life without the possibility of parole. Gov. Sisolak proposed on December 14, 2022 that th…
Clemency
Dec 14, 2022
Calling the death penalty “both dysfunctional and immoral,” Oregon Governor Kate Brown (pictured) has commuted the death sentences of the 17 prisoners on the state’s death row. The commutations, which the governor announced on Dec…
Mental Illness
Oct 17, 2022
In a 4 – 1 vote, the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board denied clemency to Richard Fairchild, the third of 25 people the state scheduled for execution between August 2022 and December 2024. Fairchild’s attorneys argue…
Mental Illness
Oct 05, 2022
A Pittsburg County, Oklahoma judge has denied a competency hearing for death-row prisoner Benjamin Cole (pictured), clearing the path for his execution on October 20, 2022. In a three-page ruling issued o…
Race
Oct 04, 2022
A study of more than 400 death-eligible murder cases in St. Louis County, Missouri over a 27-year period has found significant racial disparities in the county’s administration of the death penalty based upon the race of the victi…