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 |
Virginia | 10 |
Georgia | 10 |
New Jersey | 8 |
Florida | 6 |
Maryland | 6 |
New Mexico | 5 |
North Carolina | 5 |
Kentucky | 4 |
Missouri | 4 |
Oklahoma | 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 | 294 |
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 MoreDec 21, 2020
Two men scheduled for execution by the federal government in January 2021 are among the federal death-row prisoners who have tested positive for COVID-19 at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana. Lawyers for Corey Johnso…
Dec 08, 2020
As the December 10, 2020 execution date of federal death-row prisoner Brandon Bernard (pictured with his family) approached, jurors and a former prosecutor in his case came forward saying that the teen offender’s life should be sp…
Dec 07, 2020
Saying “our nation’s long experiment with the death penalty has failed,” a coalition of nearly 100 criminal justice officials is calling on the federal government to halt the five executions currently scheduled for December 2020 and January 2021 a…
Nov 13, 2020
Lawyers for federal death-row prisoner Lisa Montgomery filed suit in federal district court in Washington, D.C. on November 12, seeking to stay her December 8 execution because the lead counsel in her case have contracted the coronavirus.
Oct 15, 2020
In the October 2020 episode of Discussions with DPIC, former Illinois Governor George Ryan speaks with Death Penalty Information Center Executive Director Robert Dunham about the events that persuaded him to commute the d…
Sep 30, 2020
A self-described tough-on-crime Oklahoma state representative says has serious doubts as to the reliability of the Sooner State’s death penalty. “As taxpayers and voters,” Republican State Representative Kevin McDu…
Sep 16, 2020
As the 2020 National Football League (NFL) season’s opening weekend began on Sunday, September 13, end zones were painted with the words “End Racism” and “It Takes All of Us.” Six NFL teams remained in locker rooms for the Nationa…
Sep 11, 2020
Two former death-row prisoners whose sentences were commuted by governors in Illinois and Ohio more than a decade ago have been released from custody. Renaldo Hudson (pictured) was one of …
Jun 19, 2020
As high-profile support mounts in the campaign for clemency for death-row prisoner Julius Jones (pictured), the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has turned to the prosecutors who are seeking his execution — the Ok…
May 11, 2020
In the May 2020 edition of Discussions with DPIC, veteran capital defense lawyer Kelley Henry (pictured), who is representing several Tennessee death-row prisoners facing execution dates in 2020, speaks w…