Clemency

Clemency has been controversial in recent years as it appears that prosecutors are making more recommendations to the court for the life without parole option for serious offenses and therefore more offenders are seeking to get the benefit of this extraordinary assistance. Clemency is a designation used for reducing the penalties for particular crimes. It can be used to help the offenders' future prospects for employment and other life experiences without clearing their actual criminal record. Clemency may be in the form of a pardon. A pardon means that an offender is forgiven and his or her sentence set aside. Clemency can also be given in the form of a commutation, which is the reduction of a sentence. It can also be a suspension or delay in punishment while the case is being reviewed further. In essence, a pardon is always clemency; however, clemency does not always mean an offender will receive a pardon.

Pardons can be used as legal forgiveness for a particular crime. This forgiveness can be used when a person is wrongfully convicted for a crime that he or she did not commit. This remedy can also be used in instances where the punishment was unreasonable for the crime. On the other hand, a commutation is also a compassionate legal response when it is determined that an offender was given a sentence that was too severe for the crime committed. One of the most common uses of the commutation option is when a person's death sentence is reduced to life in prison. A reprieve might be given when more information is needed while the offender's case is under review. This postponement is used to determine if the person should serve the sentence given by the court. It is in the best interests of all parties that a determination be made in advance of the offender serving a particular sentence as there is no remedy available to give a an offender the time back after he or she have served it. There are many cases where convicted offenders seek the clemency option if they have been sentenced to death; however, the criminal justice system rarely grants this remedy.

The power of giving pardons in state crimes is reserved to the governor of the state in which the offender was tried. The governor can give this power to the parole board and does so in certain states. In those cases the parole board is acting on behalf of the state and represents the governor's office. The use of a parole board may represent a conflict of interest in some cases because the governor actually appoints the members to the board. In these cases the board can be seen as an actual extension of the governor and not an independent entity. Parole board members usually represent members of the criminal justice community. Some parole boards have members of the public who serve. If the parole board is not totally independent and the governor is reluctant to grant clemency, his or her position may be represented as a finality for the parole board. If there is no independence in decision making, there may be some difficulty in rectifying criminal justice court errors. This procedure may have a chilling effect on community members' willingness to serve on the board. This may be true even in states that have the most death sentences each year, Texas and Virginia respectively. It has been reported that in Texas members of the parole board sometimes do not review the lengthy clemency petitions in making their recommendation to the governor.

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