Texas: The Secret Pardon

The Texas Tribune has a can't miss story on the workings of the clemency process in that State. Along the way, it notes that, despite the importance of the decisions that it makes, the seven member Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is "one of the least transparent agencies" in State government. It is not required to hold public meetings, does not have to offer explanations for its decisions and documents related to its decision making are not available to the public. In addition, "there are no guidelines in statute or in board rules that outline a basis for decision making." The members, who make from $95,000 to $115,000 a year are not even required to meet before an execution. Materials are faxed to them and they respond via fax! Some are calling for "reform"! No kidding! Read more about the Board and its decision making here here.

Quote of the Day: John Q. Adams on the Insanity Defense

"They dare not bring forth these pretenses at trial, because they would then be disapproved; but the moment a man is sentenced to die for these offenses that strike at the very existence of human society, religion, humanity, family influence, female weakness, personal importunity, pious fraud, and counterfeit benevolence all join in a holy league to swindle a pardon from the Executive. The murderer is pumped and purged into a saint, or certified into an idiot. Fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, travel hundred of miles to work by personal solicitation upon the kindly feelings of the President. First, they extort a reprieve, then they worry out indulgences, and finally screw out a pardon. A pardon for willful, deliberate murder!" - John Q. Adams

Retroactive Pardons on the Way?

The New York Times reports (here): Legislation approved by the Senate on a voice vote Wednesday would reduce the disparity in sentences for possessing crack and powder cocaine. Currently, a person convicted of crack cocaine possession gets the same mandatory jail time as someone with 100 times that quantity of powder cocaine. Under the measure, the ratio would be reduced to 18 to 1. A similar bill is pending in the House.

One wonders if President Obama and Mr. Holder will consider a series of retroactive "policy" type pardons or, more likely, commutations of sentence, for those affected by the previous guidelines but who continue to serve time in prison.

Michigan: Senator Supports Clemency

U.S. Senator Carl Levin and several other "high profile" individuals are said to be supporting the clemency application of Thomas Cress, who claims he was wrongly convicted of murder more than two decades ago. A serial killer has confessed to the crime and passed a lie detector test. So, as former witnesses as recanting their own testimony, the detective and chief of police are now convinced of Cress' innocence and there is even a YouTube video out. The Michigan parole board will be holding a hearing to consider the request (for commutation of his life sentence). See story here.

Quote of the Day: Grover Cleveland on Pardons

I have been listening to many applications, and I shall pardon when I see fit. I shall be a governor until the end of my term, not-withstanding all the would-be governors in the State. I am going to do just as I have a mind to about this pardoning business, whether the newspapers like it or not. [One] of these days I'll grant a pardon just because, in my judgment, it ought to be granted and I shall say that is my reason, and shall not give any other. Justice, mercy, and humanity are the things alone to be considered in the application for a pardon. And if I find a poor fellow is unjustly imprisoned, or there is any good reason why he should be pardoned, I'll pardon, and will not regard the record at all. - Grover Cleveland

Twilight of the Pardon Power?

Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Margaret Colgate Love has a forthcoming article (Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology) now available at SSRN entitled "The Twilight of the Pardon Power." Love looks at pardoning practices in the 19th and early 20th centuries, a time when the pardon power played an important operational role in the federal justice system. She then describes how pardon evolved into parole, and after 1930 came to be used primarily to restore rights of citizenship. The article then examines the reasons for pardon’s decline in the 1980s and its collapse in the Clinton Administration. Finally, she argues that President Obama should want to revive the power, and suggests how he might do it. See full article here.

Maryland: Life Means Life

Dan Rodricks of the Baltimore Sun has written an interesting piece entitled, The Sorry Legacy of Life Means Life'. Rodricks notes that it was Governor Parris Glendening (D) who, fifteen years ago, dropped the phrase ("life means life") and announced that he announced that he would never approve parole for inmates serving life terms.Today, there are more than 2,300 Maryland inmates serving life sentences. Glendening's Republican successor, Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. worked with a ten-member, appointed, parole commission, but granted only a handful of paroles to lifers. Then came Martin O'Malley (D), who effectively restored the Glendening policy.

One solution, suggested by two Baltimore legislators, is to remove the governor from the parole system -- and "take politics out of this process." They have proposed legislation would put the power to approve or deny parole with the parole commission. See full story here.

Virginia: New Clemency Policy

Governor Bob McDonnell has announced that he will "break with tradition" in his State by announcing his decisions on clemency for inmates just days before they are to be executed. It is reported that the previous "tradition" was to announce such decisions on the actual day of the execution.

The new policy will, of course, enable the state to avoid the awkwardness of telling those who have traveled far to witness an execution that the proceedings have been cancelled - for whatever reason. It will also allow the condemned to focus their final hours on matters more personal than the technicalities and odds favoring clemency petitions. One is reminded of the not-uncommon practice of presidents to delay executions in order that the condemned might better prepare themselves for the next life! See story here.

Kentucky: Posthumous Pardons for 44?

That's right. A group of people are trying to get posthumous pardons for 44 Kentuckians who were found guilty of assisting slaves who attempted to escape. See story here,

Becker on Ford's Pardon of Nixon

Last night, the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library hosted a lecture by Benton Becker, a key advisor to the President on the pardon of Richard Nixon. More specifically, Becker was asked to research two questions 1) could a pardon be issued before any charges were filed? and 2) does the president have the right to issue a blanket pardon absolving a would-be defendant of whatever charges he may face? Becker filed a response here which gave Ford the "go" signal on both counts. Ford then sent him to Nixon's ranch in order to get Nixon to 1) sign over his presidential papers 2) accept the pardon in writing and 3) to convey to Nixon that acceptance of the pardon was an admission of guilt. See story here.

Rove on Libby, Bush and Pardons

Question: You write that you keep a clipping about Scooter Libby's case to remind yourself of the cost of what happened. We've read that President Bush and Vice President Cheney argued about whether or not there should be a pardon for Libby.

Mr. Rove: I don't know if I would say argued. I'm not sure I would depict it as an argument. I was not there, but there was a discussion.

Question: Did you have a position?

Mr. Rove: This is an intense personal decision by the chief executive. I do know this: Governor Bush was loath to substitute his judgment as a governor for that of the legal system. The pardon power, which for a governor of Texas like the pardon power of the president is unlimited power, frankly concerns him. It's in the constitutions, the state and the national constitutions, but as a result, he is reluctant to exercise it. What I thought was extraordinary about what President Bush did was having this beliefthat absent compelling evidence of a miscarriage of justice that he is loath to substitute his opinion for that of a judge and a jury, that he stepped into the Libby matter and said I'm going to commute the sentence and declare an end to this. It's over. I'm not going to substitute my judgment for that of a judge and a jury absent compelling evidence of a miscarriage of judgment, but I am going to say that the judicial system imposed too serious a penalty.

Question: Do you think he should have gone further and gone for the pardon?

Mr. Rove: I'm going to respect his decision because he was involved intimately in the details of the case and had access to things I didn't have access to. Again, I do think this case shows the difficulty of the criminal justice system being used to referee political disputes. We diminish the criminal justice system when we use it to referee political disputes and we unnecessarily penalize political actors when we do. It went on far too long, exacted too high a cost from everyone involved. And for what reason?

See the complete interview in Pittsburgh Post here.

Number of Days Till the First Pardon.

President Obama has gone 414 days without granting a single pardon or commutation of sentence. He will soon pass the ever-popular John Adams (Mr. Alien Sedition Acts), and move into 3rd place, among the very slowest in history. Indeed, this seems very likely, if Obama intends to wait until December to act. Then it is simply a matter of whether or not he will be more negligent than Bush or Clinton.

Washington, incidentally, hardly deserves the same level of disappointment. The colonists had had their fill of the King's abuse of the pardon power and the President, under the Articles of Confederation, could pardon no one. Neither the Virginia Plan nor the New Jersey Plan (at the Constitutional Convention) contained a pardon power. The first draft of the Constitution had no such power either, until a single delegate, working as a committee member, scribbled it into the margin. On top of all of that, of course, is the fact that there were relatively few federal laws to violate, and few criminals for Washington to pardon.

DOJ Data (1945-2009) in Chart Form

I have completed charts on pardons using Department of Justice data from 1945-2009 at the newly created PardonResearch.com (http://pardonresearch.com/doj.htm).These charts once appeared here, in the right column, but readers will find the latest versions are much higher quality and easier to use/manipulate because they are presented in three different forms (.html .pptx and .docx).

Louisiana: Automatic Pardon Not Enough of Pardon

Ernal Broussard had some nerve challenging Francis Touchet, Jr. for a position on the Abbeville City Council. So, Touchet pointed out what any opponent might have pointed out: that Broussard was a convicted felon, recently out of prison, who was never pardoned. On the other hand, it is true that, at the end of his sentence, Broussard was given an "automatic" pardon (from someone) because he had committed a non-violent crime. So, that's why we have courts!

A trial court ruled Broussard was disqualified because 1) he had been out of prison less than 15 years and 2) his pardon did not come from the president or governor. A court of appeals reversed, going so far as to question Broussard's conviction! Finally, the Louisiana State Supreme Court agreed with the trial court, and held Broussard ineligible.

See more on this story here and here.

Texas: Lawyer Disbarred, Pardoned, Angry.

Police say Robert Mustard shot himself in the head after shooting 66-year-old Richard Smith four times in the legs and 39-year-old Christopher Smith in the head and the neck (both men survived the attack). It is reported that Mustard, who received a law degree from Southern Methodist University, was "upset about financial dealings." In the 70s and 80s, he was disbarred and faced compulsory discipline after a conviction for felony bribery. But, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice also reports that Mustard received a 10-year sentence, was released on parole on Dec. 4, 1988 and received a full pardon from Governor Bill Clements in 1990. See more on the story here and here. We guess it is time to give Clements the Huckabee treatment! How could he release a violent felon and fail to see what is so obvious almost two decades later?

PardonResearch.Com is on the Way!

I will be building the skeletal outline for PardonResearch.com this morning (until noon or so) and will be constantly posting updated versions as I go. It is also my intention to at least start posting conference papers that used to be housed at PardonPower.com. If you would like to see it all happen, as it happens, feel free to stop by. Likewise, I am open for suggestions, especially in the early stages. Best,

Ohio: Reprieve to Rest Up, Recover, for Execution!

Lawrence Reynolds was scheduled to be executed Tuesday morning for a murder he committed way back in 1994. But, instead, he decided to attempt suicide. Apparently, Reynolds' condition is such that he is now quite unsuitable for execution.

So, Governor Ted Strickland has issued a reprieve, delaying the execution for another seven days, and allowing Mr. Reynolds to rest up, recover and get himself back into proper shape for execution!

See story in the Columbus Dispatch here.

More Change: Keeping the Heraclitus Crowd Happy!

The migration progress for PardonPower.com appears to be coming to an end. We continue to add images, fix dead links and adjust this and that. But most of these changes will not even be noticed. It also appears the current three-column spread works in IE, Firefox and Google - which pleases us very much. Now, we are ready to go on to the next big thing:

Tomorrow, we will launch PardonResearch.com in order to provide some of the information that used to appear on this blog and some. PardonResearch.com will serve as the primary starting point for members of the news media who are interested in data and analysis of federal executive clemency or, the president's power to power. The site will include downloadable versions of professional papers, manipulable bibliographies, higher quality graphs and charts and contact information for several pardon experts Nation-wide. Original data will be presented, discussed and - upon request - shared with interested readers. Please find a way to visit us at PardonResearch.com tomorrow!

Watch List: Support for Peltier

Peter Worthington, at the FrumForum, observes 65-year old Leonard Peltier is now starting his 35th year in prison. Among his supporters are Amnesty International, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Tutu, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Members of the European Parliament, David Geffen, Robert Redford and the Belgian and Italian parliaments. And, argues Worthington, "guilt" should no longer be "am issue" for "even if one believes he was guilty, [Peltier] has served enough time and deserves to be free."

In 1975, Peltier was charged with the shooting of two FBI agents at Pine Ridge, South Dakota, near Wounded Knee where, in 1973, there was a highly publicized 71-day siege.He was actually one of four Indians charged, but chose to flee to Alberta. The other three went on trial. One had his charges dismissed and the two others were found not guilty (by reason of self defense). Worthington then summarizes Peltier's misadventures in the court system in a convincing manner.

The piece reminds us that Bill Clinton hinted that he might grant executive clemency to Peltier, "but changed his mind when some 500 FBI agents, retirees and families demonstrated outside the White House." Billionaire David Geffen also lobbied Clinton re Peltier. Worthington also reports Peltier has an "unblemished prison record" but "is going blind from diabetes, has kidney failure and is susceptible to strokes." PardonPower finds this one of the best written, focused, informative and persuasive pieces on this hot topic. See complete piece here.

Pardon for "Breaker" Morant?

It is reported that the Attorney General of Australia has at last sent a petition to the Queen of England, requesting a posthumous pardon for Lieutenant Harry "Breaker" Morant. Morant was charged with murder and executed by firing squad in 1902, during the Boer War. Says one Commander Unkles:

“The passing of time and the fact that Morant, Handcock and Witton are deceased does not diminish the errors and these injustices must be addressed. The issue is not whether Morant and Handcock shot Boer prisoners, which they admitted to, but whether they were properly represented and military law properly and evenly applied.”

Morant, who actually volunteered to fight for Britain, was charged along with two others when his unit killed 12 prisoners of war and a German witness. The Australians admitted to the shooting, but there were substantial questions regarding the nature of their orders and standard practice. In addition, they were provided no representation until the day before trial and were not allowed to communicate with the Australian government throughout the procedings. One author says, however, that Morant and his co-defendants should not be honored for committing Rule 303 "war crimes." See story here.

California: Manson Family Member to be Paroled?

Bruce Davis, a member of Charles Manson's cheery 1970s “family,” has been recommended for parole after spending almost four decades behind bars for the role that he played in the murders of Gary Hinman and Donald Shea. The recommendation of the Board of Parole Hearings will now go to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The 67-year old Davis, who has been denied parole 23 times, is reported to have become a "born-again Christian" and has earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in philosophy of religion. Two other "family" members have been paroled (Steve Grogan and Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme) while Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel remain in prison. Davis plans to spend time with his family and do some landscaping if released. See story here.

The Authority of PARDON POWER !

Dear Readers,

According to a May 2008 post (or, about 150,000 visitors ago), the Technocrati "authority" figure for this blog was 16. At the time, we were thrilled, as we had no idea whatsoever what that meant, or did not mean!

So, today, we are simply beside ourselves to see that our blog "authority" is well above 400, No, we still do not know what it means, but there it is!

Best,

Oklahoma: Recommendation. Objection

Oklahoma’s Pardon and Parole Board has recommended parole for Dennis Shackelford, who was found guilty of first-degree murder in 1992. The vote was unanimous, but conditioned upon successful completion of 120 days of community-level work release to be followed by psychological counseling. Shackelford has steadily maintained that he had was in fear for the life of his wife and himself and that he acted in self-defense. The family of the victim opposes any early release. See story here.

Migration Nears an End ... We Hope!

It appears that we have finally solved the 24 25 riddles which block the novice from effortless, perfect blog migration. Hearty hat tips to several people who made suggestions along the way - we thought about abandoning the project altogether more than once!. Hopefully, we can get back to blogging without additional major interruption.

We also want recognize that a lot of information was lost in the migration that was data oriented (especially) in the links in the right bar. These may reappear, from time to time, but our current goal is to create a separate site entirely dedicated to the presentation and sharing of data on federal executive clemency.

Thank you for your patience and many kind offers of assistance. Best,

New York: Pardon!

From the Office of the Governor:

Governor David A. Paterson today announced that he has pardoned Qing Hong Wu. Mr. Wu came to the United States from China with his parents at age five. In 2007 and engaged to be married to a United States citizen, Mr. Wu applied to become a United States citizen. Mr. Wu disclosed to United States Immigration officials that he had convictions for robberies which occurred in New York City in 1995 and 1996, for which Mr. Wu served three years in the custody of the former Division for Youth. These convictions require deportation under the inflexible federal immigration law. Mr. Wu was ordered to report to an immigration officer in November 2009 and was detained. He has been in federal custody ever since.