Mercy and Commutation in the Mass Incarceration Era: A Multi-level Multi-method Investigation

• In Event: Policies and Practices Regarding Mercy and Wrongful Conviction

Abstract

Commutation is a form of clemency that dramatically reduces prison sentences. It thus represents an important “back-end” mechanism for mercy in an era of harsh justice and decades-long prison sentences. This multi-method paper presents a systematic empirical examination of individual and contextual variation in commutation . We first describe broad national trends, showing a significant decline in commutation releases in recent decades, as well as great geographic variation in its use across the 50 states. Next, we use mixed-effects logit models to show how individual-level determinants of criminal justice privilege, such as White race, female sex, and a less violent criminal history are more likely to be released via commutation. In contrast, those who are black, male, and have committed a crime against a person are less likely to be commuted. We also examine aggregate level determinants, finding, for instance, that commutations are more frequent under Republican governors. Finally, to provide some insight into these patterns and to show how commutation hearings actually work, we present qualitative evidence taken from our commutation hearing transcripts in a Midwestern state.

Authors

• Veronica Horowitz, University of Minnesota

• Christopher Uggen, University of Minnesota-Sociology