Commutation of Prison Sentences: Practice,Promise,and Limitation

Executive clemency procedures offer an ancient but still modern mechanism for righting injustice and coping with problems arising when the judicial system fails to adjust to social needs. As the indeterminate sentence gives way to determinate sanctions and prison crowding grows acute, clemency, particularly in the form of commutation of sentences of prisoners, offers one means of adaptation to correctional population pressures. This article examines the legal and administrative structures, policies, and actual uses of sentence commutation in the United States. A survey of state commutation practices finds that there is wide variation in structure and policy among the states, that in general commutation is granted quite sparingly, that in response to sentencing changes states have both increased and decreased its use, and that political and practical considerations limit the use of commutation as a prison populaton safety valve.