Clemency

Clemency is the constitutional power of a chief executive to grant mercy in individual criminal cases, encompassing pardons, commutations of sentence, reprieves, and remission of fines and forfeitures. Federal clemency authority derives from Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution; state clemency authority derives from state constitutions, sometimes shared between the Governor and a Board of Pardons. Clemency is distinct from expungement, which is a judicial or administrative record-relief mechanism. In the cannabis context, clemency has been used to commute disproportionately long sentences for cannabis trafficking convictions (Biden's commutations of 11 individuals in December 2023; 1,499 additional commutations plus 39 pardons in a single-day record on December 12, 2024) and to grant categorical pardons for possession (see Pardon entry). Applications for federal clemency are processed by the DOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney. State clemency processes vary widely, with some states (e.g., Connecticut, Georgia) vesting authority in independent pardon boards rather than the Governor. *→ See also: Pardon, Expungement, Sealing