Reform the PA Board of Pardons

The current system is not working

 Candidate Shapiro claimed he would create “a criminal justice system that both keeps our communities safe and enforces the law in a fair and consistent manner.” But Governor Shapiro has only signed off on seven commutation applications since taking office – one eighth the number that Wolf signed in the same amount of time, and a small fraction of the number signed in the 1970s, when the commutation process was operating more how it was designed to be.

Candidate Shapiro promised “common sense, comprehensive criminal justice reform.” Despite controlling the appointments of three of the Board’s five members, Governor Shapiro has let the Board of Pardons once again become a “Board of Perpetual Punishment.”

The commutation process is extremely slow and arduous, frequently re-traumatizing for applicants, operates with no transparency, and often serves as a re-litigation of the original crime, rather than an assessment of whether a person has done the work to reintegrate into society. The process is convoluted, the structure is inconsistently adhered to, and several of the board members have repeatedly demonstrated that they are not fit for the role. Moreover, two of the five board members are elected officials, whose personal political careers in our current “tough on crime” political landscape are likely to be prioritized over giving “yes” votes. Meanwhile, hundreds of applicants are waiting in the years-long process, only to be denied without any rationale or feedback.

What needs to change: 

Our petition highlights our 3 priority concerns, but there are many more steps to take before the commutation system can operate the way it was intended to when it was created: as a balance and relief valve for Pennsylvania’s extremely harsh sentencing laws. These are some of our recommendations:

  • The Governor must pressure the Board Of Pardons to approve more applicants.
  • The Governor must use his power to make the Board of Pardons process more transparent, and fair by providing a written reason for its decisions, based on clear criteria. Without this there is no accountability for BOP member actions or transparency why the BOP is making decisions.
  • The commutation statutes need revision to reflect this.
  • The Governor must appoint the best people for the job. The BOP has five members, three of whom are appointed by the governor. The appointees must be qualified, be familiar with communities most impacted by incarceration, and have a firm commitment to second chances. The current board has shown again and again that they do not meet these criteria. Additionally, the appointment and confirmation process of BOP members must be transparent and meaningfully engage the public.
  • The legislature should rescind the unanimous vote and return to a 3/5 vote. This would be a constitutional amendment.
  • The BOP must stop re-litigating these convictions. The BOP’s decisions must be based on who the person is today and their recent years of incarceration—not a re-litigation of the harm that led to their incarceration, which they cannot change.
  • The Board must return to in person public hearings. Being in the same room is important. Zoom should remain an option for others who wish to attend.
  • The Board must let the applicant’s support people speak for their allotted 15 minutes. Since the hearings went online, very few people attending the hearings on behalf of applicants, other than the Department of Corrections representative, have been able to speak. Applicants’ support and accomplishments need to be spoken into the record.
  • The Board must bypass the merit review and grant a public hearing for any applicant who has institutional support from their prison.