Clemency
Arizona Constitution, Article 5, Section 5
“The governor shall have power to grant reprieves, commutation, and pardons, after convictions, for all offenses...”
Clemency 101
What is clemency?
Clemency is a mechanism for relieving a person convicted of a criminal offense from a court-ordered sentence or punitive measure. There are two main methods through which clemency can be given—pardon or commutation of sentence.
Clemency is requested through a petition or an application process and can be granted for any number of reasons.
Clemency also is the last chance for relief for death row prisoners once a warrant of execution has been filed. Once a warrant of execution has been filed a clemency hearing is typically scheduled two weeks prior to the execution date.
Who can grant clemency?
In Arizona, the Governor has the power to grant clemency. However, the Board of Executive Clemency appointed by the governor must provide a recommendation to the governor in order to grant clemency. Without the Board of Clemency’s recommendation for clemency the governor is not able to provide relief.
The Board “shall have exclusive power to pass upon and recommend reprieves, commutations, paroles and pardons. No reprieve, commutation or pardon may be granted by the governor unless it has first been recommended by the Board.” (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 31-402(A)). Any applications made directly to the governor are forwarded to the Board for its recommendation.
What is the executive board of clemency?
The Executive Board of Clemency is a board comprised of five people appointed by the governor (subject to senate confirmation) to serve for a term of five years. In 2017, Governor Doug Ducey signed Senate Bill 1070 granting full employee benefits to the members of the board. The Board works a full time schedule conducting hearings Monday through Thursday and oversees clemency/pardons and parole revocations.
Currently the board’s composition heavily reflects law enforcement backgrounds, despite that no more than two member from the same professional discipline may be members of the board at the same time (Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 31-401(A); 38-211(A)-(C)). Board members serve terms of five (5) years which expire on the third Monday in January of the appropriate year. The Governor selects a member of the Board to serve as the Board’s Chairman.
The current board members are:
