Public Access to Clemency Petitions; Who Monitors, Controls, Historically Preserves Clemency Records in Seven States.

This paper provides a state survey of the public access to clemency materials, mainly petitions, reviewing the diverse procedures of seven States which have the highest execution rates in the US. The survey addresses the law, regulations and practical applications, including interviews with State clemency officials from Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. These states have a variety of diverse clemency procedures from models in which the governor has sole constitutional authority, where a Board must recommend clemency, and where a board has sole authority. The question of public access to State death penalty clemency petitions is emblematic of important general issues regarding the fairness, standards, effectiveness, flexibility and diversity of the various clemency procedures. It also is related to the question of who controls, monitors and historically preserves the records of the unbridled discretion associated with the clemency process, the executive, the legislature, an independent board, a cabinet, the state archives, or a system of checks and balances. While a State legislature may attempt to monitor the process through record keeping and disclosure requirements, a State constitution which invests the power in the executive could override even the mildest legislative constraints. Therefore the study of access to clemency petitions must include a full understanding of the clemency procedures as outlined by State statutes, constitution, regulations and judicial decisions. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]