Entries tagged with “Thomas Whitaker”

Jul 26, 2024

Analysis: Why Executive Officials Grant Clemency

In a new analy­sis, the Death Penalty Information Center has found that exec­u­tive offi­cials most often cite dis­pro­por­tion­ate sen­tenc­ing, pos­si­ble inno­cence, and mit­i­ga­tion fac­tors such as intel­lec­tu­al dis­abil­i­ty or men­tal ill­ness as rea­sons to grant clemen­cy in cap­i­tal cas­es. Ineffective defense lawyer­ing and offi­cial mis­con­duct are also com­mon fac­tors in clemen­cy grants. While present in few­er cas­es, sup­port for clemen­cy from the victim’s fam­i­ly or a deci­sion­mak­er in the orig­i­nal tri­al, such…