NORTHAMPTON, MA – “Every November, it has become a light-hearted tradition for the president and some governors to ‘pardon’ turkeys before the Thanksgiving holiday, sparing them from the dinner table,” notes Leah Wang, writing for the Prison Policy Initiative blog.
Wang adds, though, “But when the nation’s political leaders take part in an annual turkey pardon, it’s hard not to think about the chronic underuse of clemency powers across the U.S., especially for people on death row.”
Wang continued, “If turkey pardons are about choosing life over death, using clemency powers to empty remaining death rows is a straightforward way for elected leaders to act on those values and reject a horrific practice.
“President Biden and the outgoing governors of North Carolina, Indiana, and Missouri in particular can use clemency for those facing a state-sanctioned death before they leave office early next year. More than a dozen other governors can stop executions in their states, too, by exercising their unilateral power to modify or reduce criminal convictions and sentences at any time.”
For clarification, the blog provided, “Clemency is an umbrella term that refers to the ability of a governor or president to modify or reduce a person’s conviction or criminal sentence, typically via a commutation or pardon.”
In regard to President Biden, Wang writes: “Although he’s extended pardons and commutations during his term, (he) has yet to use his clemency powers for a person facing the federal death penalty, despite openly opposing capital punishment at one time. Biden can still heed increasing calls from advocates to improve his minimal clemency record and clear federal death row of all 40 current death sentences.”
In comparison to the present, Wang added, “Given that President-elect Donald Trump enthusiastically supports the death penalty — and has historically abused the pardon power — President Biden could spare 40 lives immediately and reclaim the true function of clemency by commuting all federal death sentences.”
Several other governors were noted as examples in Wang’s comparisons with their stances on the death penalty, including Roy Cooper of North Carolina.
Said Wang, the governor “has only used clemency sparingly throughout his eight-year term. But even after issuing relief to several people just before Thanksgiving — including five people convicted of murder — the outgoing governor has withheld clemency from everyone on North Carolina’s death row, which has the fifth-highest death row population as of January 2024 with 138 people condemned to die.”
Wang added, “The North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty has been in Governor Cooper’s ear since 2022, when they launched a campaign calling on him to empty the state’s death row, commuting all sentences to prison terms before his term is over. He still has time to heed their advice.”
Wang maintains “Indiana’s Governor Holcomb has a weak record for granting clemency, but could spare the eight individuals on Indiana’s death row with the stroke of a pen, including one man scheduled to be put to death in December — resuming executions in the state after more than a decade.
“According to the Indiana Public Defender Council, more than half of all death sentences handed down in the Hoosier State since 1977 have been commuted, reversed, or dismissed, with Indiana governors taking clemency action as recently as 2005. And between 2000 and 2015, few cases that initially sought the death penalty actually resulted in a death sentence.”
“It’s unclear, though unlikely, whether Gov. (Mike) Parson (Missouri) has ever commuted a death sentence; the clemency data produced by the governor’s office do not include crime or sentencing information. Nor could we find evidence of Parson participating in a Thanksgiving turkey pardon,” said Wang.
Wang continued, “Considering Gov. Parson’s record of harmful policies, like bans on nearly all abortions and on gender-affirming care for minors, it seems unlikely that he would consider saving the lives of the dozen men on Missouri’s death row.
“Parson has overseen the executions of 12 people during his tenure as governor, including the execution of Johnny Johnson, a man with serious mental illness whose clemency was supported by his victim’s own father, and Marcellus Williams, whose advocates included prosecutors and the victim’s family.”
“We applaud elected leaders when they use clemency to relieve people of excessive or unnecessary criminal sentences. But too often, they overlook those given the most draconian punishment on the books,” wrote Wang.
“Only a consistent practice of commuting death sentences and issuing pardons can combat the horrifying persistence of the death penalty. With Thanksgiving right around the corner, and their days in office numbered, outgoing leaders can spare human beings, rather than just birds.”
