Virginia Governor Commutes Death Sentence of Ivan Teleguz

On April 20, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe commuted the death sentence of Ivan Teleguz (pictured), whom the Commonwealth had scheduled to be executed on April 25. Teleguz will now serve a sentence of life without parole. It was the first death-penalty clemency ever issued by Gov. McAuliffe. The official statement released to the media in conjunction with the commutation outlined several of the factors that influenced the Governor’s decision, including the prosecution’s use of false evidence that tainted the jury’s choice to sentence Teleguz to death. “[D]uring the trial, evidence was admitted implicating Mr. Teleguz in another murder in a small Pennsylvania town,” McAuliffe said. “In arguing for the death penalty, the prosecutor made explicit reference to this evidence in arguing that Mr. Teleguz was so dangerous that he needed to be put to death. We now know that no such murder occurred, much less with any involvement by Mr. Teleguz. It was false information, plain and simple, and while I am sure that the evidence was admitted in a good-faith belief in its truthfulness at the time, we now know that to be incorrect.” McAuliffe also cited the disproportionality of sentencing Teleguz to death when Michael Hetrick, the admitted killer, received a sentence of life without parole in exchange for his testimony against Teleguz. “To allow a sentence to stand based on false information and speculation is a violation of the very principles of justice our system holds dear,” McAuliffe said. Teleguz—a foreign national from the Ukraine—maintains that he is innocent of the crime, and his clemency petition received support from numerous political, religious, and business leaders.

This is the third death-penalty commutation issued in the U.S. in 2017. On January 17, 2017, President Barack Obama commuted the death sentences of Abelardo Arboleda Ortiz, a federal death row prisoner, and Dwight Loving, a military death row prisoner.

(R. Weiner and G. Schneider, “Virginia governor commutes sentence of death row prisoner,” The Washington Post, April 20, 2017; Press Release, “Governor McAuliffe Commutes Sentence of Ivan Teleguz to Life Imprisonment,” Office of the Governor, April 20, 2017.) See Clemency.