Posted: Feb. 14, 2010
Prisoner commutations
have been rare and safe
for public
BY STEVEN C. LIEDEL
Last week, the Detroit Free Press reported on the
clemency process and Gov. Jennifer Granholm's
track record in exercising her constitutional
authority to commute prison sentences ("Inmates
released at record rate," Feb. 7). The governor has
exercised this authority sparingly. Ninety-eight
percent of commutation requests have been
denied.
Over the past seven years, out of more than
6,200 requests for commutations, the governor
granted 124. Many of the inmates granted
commutations suffered from debilitating medical
conditions, were terminally ill or medically frail,
or were deportable to another country. Twenty-
four have since died.
• Gov. Granholm releases prisoners at record
rate
• PDF: Download list of freed felons
None of those released was a serial murderer or
rapist. Following release, none has committed a
violent crime.
One recipient of a commutation was 66-year-old
Doreen Washington, a battered woman whose
severe abuse by her husband, the victim,
included being set on fire while she was asleep.
In that case, the sentencing judge urged Gov.
Granholm and the parole board to commute
Washington's sentence and expressed regret that
the battered-woman defense wasn't available at
the time of trial.
The number of commutations granted by the
governor is driven primarily by two actions she
took beginning in 2007 to reduce a backlog of
clemency requests.
First, the governor created the Executive
Clemency Advisory Council to assist in reviewing
clemency requests before they are submitted to
the governor. Priority was given to applications
from medically frail prisoners, elderly and
nonviolent inmates, and foreign nationals eligible
for deportation.
Next, she created the Michigan Parole and
Commutation Board, replacing the old parole
board. One of the new board's priorities was to
expedite consideration of commutation requests.
A determination by the Michigan Parole and
Commutation Board that a prisoner is not a risk
to public safety is the minimum threshold for
commutation. Only then does the governor begin
an exhaustive review of a commutation
application.
The governor considers the inmate's age, medical
record, time incarcerated, institutional record
and deportability; the nature and circumstances
of the crime; and the extent to which the inmate
has accepted responsibility for the crime and
made efforts to rehabilitate.
The governor also weighs the recommendation
of her legal counsel and support or opposition
by the prosecutor, attorney general, sentencing
judge, family, community, prison officials and
the victim's family. As a former federal
prosecutor and attorney general, Gov. Granholm
gives strong consideration to any opposition,
particularly from a victim or family member.
While the Free Press reported that the attorney
general often expresses opposition, the record
reveals that his office opposed commutation in
less than half of the 124 cases where a
commutation was granted. For sentences issued
in Wayne County, only 8 of 34 commutations
granted were opposed by the county prosecutor.
The commutation process is extremely thorough
and an important element in our system of c
onstitutional checks and balances. Before Gov.
Granholm signs a commutation certificate, she
and her legal advisers painstakingly endeavor to
ensure that the person is safe to release -- and
that commutation is simply the right thing to
do.
STEVEN C. LIEDEL is Gov. Jennifer Granholm's
legal counsel.
