Overview
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, inadequate legal representation, and evidence that the defendant may have been wrongly convicted.
At Issue
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 elected; thus the process may be highly political. For these reasons, clemencies in death penalty cases are difficult to predict and immune from judicial review.
Grants of Clemency by State
Clemencies Granted by State since 1976 | Number of Clemencies |
---|---|
Illinois | 187 |
Ohio | 21 |
Oregon | 17 |
Virginia | 10 |
Georgia | 10 |
New Jersey | 8 |
Maryland | 7 |
Florida | 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 | 313 |
What DPIC Offers
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.
News & Developments
News
Jul 03, 2023
Louisiana Mass Clemency Efforts Highlight Similarities to Illinois Mass Clemency 20 Years Ago

As Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards (pictured) considers the clemency petitions filed by 51 of the state’s 57 death row prisoners, advocates and journalists have noted the similarities between Louisiana’s death penalty system and that of Illinois, where Governor George Ryan commuted the sentences of all 167 people on death row in 2003. Both states have had high numbers of death row exonerations stemming from systemic misconduct, death sentences in both states are concentrated in a small number of jurisdictions, and both governors have expressed serious personal concerns about the…
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Nov 21, 2023
Following Series of Denials, Louisiana Board to Hold Administrative Hearings on Clemency for at Least Two Additional Death Row Prisoners
The Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole will consider at least two additional applications for clemency on November 27, following a tumultuous year in which nearly all Louisiana death row prisoners sought clemency in response to outgoing Governor John Bel Edwards voicing his personal opposition to the death penalty. Under the Louisiana Constitution, Governor Edwards cannot grant clemency without a recommendation from the Board; he asked the Board to set hearings so that he could fulfill his “authority and duty to consider these applications.” However, amidst opposition from…
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Oct 19, 2023
Idaho Parole Board Grants Clemency Hearing for 73-Year-Old Death Row Prisoner Facing Execution
On October 18, 2023, the Idaho Commission of Pardons and Parole delayed the scheduled execution for Thomas Creech in order to provide him with a full clemency hearing. A date for the hearing has not yet been scheduled. An Ada County, Idaho judge previously issued a death warrant for Mr. Creech, who has been on death row for nearly 44 years, setting his execution for November 8, 2023. The Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) announced that they have secured the appropriate drugs to carry out a lethal injection execution, despite…
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Oct 17, 2023
Victim’s Sister, Faith Leaders, and Others Plead for Clemency for Will Speer, Faith Based Coordinator on Texas’ Death Row
On Friday, October 13, the sole surviving family member of murder victim Gary L. Dickerson joined dozens of faith leaders and others in asking the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles for clemency for Will Speer. Mr. Speer is set to be executed on October 26, 2023. After a childhood of horrific abuse, a life sentence by age 18, and a judgment of death by age 23, Mr. Speer devoted himself to the study of Christianity and has become a prominent prison minister. “In my heart, I feel that he…
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Oct 16, 2023
Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole Denies Clemency Hearings for Five Death-Sentenced Prisoners
On October 13, 2023, after a brief administrative hearing, the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole denied clemency hearings for five of the 56 death-sentenced prisoners seeking clemency before Governor John Bel Edwards leaves office in January 2024. The four-member panel split its vote on four of the five applications, with a majority denying the fifth application on the grounds that Winthrop Eaton is unlikely to be executed because he is mentally incompetent. Clifford Deruise, Daniel Irish, Emmett Taylor, and Antoinette Frank were denied clemency hearings despite having…
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Sep 14, 2023
Louisiana District Attorney Asks Court to Halt Death Row Clemency Hearings for Three Prisoners
On September 12, 2023, East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore filed a request for injunctive relief, asking the 19th Judicial District Court to vacate hearings scheduled for three East Baton Rouge Parish prisoners who have requested clemency. In June 2023, 51 death-sentenced individuals filed clemency applications with the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole, requesting a commutation of their death sentences to life without parole. Five additional applications from death row prisoners have since been submitted to the Board. DA Moore’s motion comes in response to the…
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Aug 18, 2023
Two Members of Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board Resign, Citing Heavy Workloads and Challenges of Capital Case Reviews
Two of the five members of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, which considers the clemency petitions of the state’s death row prisoners, have resigned. Board chairman Richard Smothermon and member Cathy Stocker both announced that the board’s August 2023 meeting would be their last. Governor Kevin Stitt has appointed former District Attorney Kevin Buchanan to replace Ms. Stocker, while Mr. Smothermon’s replacement will be selected by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
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Aug 10, 2023
Governor John Bel Edwards Directs Louisiana Board to Consider Death Row Clemency Petitions and Set Hearings
On August 9th, with the use of his executive authority, Governor John Bel Edwards (pictured) asked the Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole to return the 56 clemency applications filed by death-sentenced prisoners in Louisiana to its docket for consideration and set them for hearings. The Board of Pardons will now have until January 2024, when Gov. Edwards officially leaves office, to decide whether to recommend clemency for nearly all of the state’s death row prisoners. Earlier this year, Gov. Edwards expressed his opposition to capital punishment, stating that…
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Jul 28, 2023
Louisiana Pardon Board Declines to Consider 56 Death Row Clemency Petitions Without Merits Review
On July 24, 2023, the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Parole set aside all 56 clemency applications filed by nearly every death-sentenced prisoner in Louisiana last month without reviewing the merits of a single one of them. The prisoners asked for their sentences to be commuted to life without parole, but the Board made its decision to return the applications based on an advisory, nonbinding opinion from the Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry. Attorneys for death row prisoners have responded by arguing that the Attorney General’s office misinterpreted the language…
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Jun 14, 2023
Mass Filing for Clemency Highlights Longstanding Systemic Problems with Louisiana’s “Broken” Death Penalty
On June 13, 2023, 51 of the 57 people on Louisiana’s death row filed clemency applications with the Louisiana Board of Pardons and Committee on Parole, asking Governor John Bel Edwards to commute their sentences to life without parole. The clemency applications describe flaws in the individual cases – including mental illness and intellectual disability, innocence claims, and official misconduct – but cumulatively portray a death penalty system marked by significant systemic problems. The board’s members, all of whom are appointed by Edwards, will weigh the applications individually and then send their…
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May 19, 2023
Missouri Clemency Petition Highlights Prisoner’s Extraordinary Artwork
UPDATE 2: On June 2, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit lifted the stay that had been imposed by the U.S. District Court, saying that the lower court did not have jurisdiction to order the stay.
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