Post by guest on Mar 23, 2009 6:04:09 GMT -5
Governor 'trying to do due diligence' on pardon requests
Strickland, a former prison psychologist, says every clemency case is different and involves a wide range of circumstances.
www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/oh/story/news/local/2009/03/23/ddn032309pardon.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=16
By Laura A. Bischoff
Staff Writer
Monday, March 23, 2009
COLUMBUS — Gov. Ted Strickland said soon he will release his decisions on more than 100 requests for gubernatorial commutations and pardons that would allow prisoners to get out early or ex-convicts to have their criminal records wiped clean.
"I'm spending a lot of time on these requests. We're trying to do due diligence," said Strickland, who has 494 clemency requests on his desk. "The clemency power given to the governor, and at the national level given to the president, is a fairly broad power, and that's why I think it must be used very, very carefully. It's an attempt to seek justice in a way that the legal system is not empowered to do."
About 55 percent of the applications are for commutations — requests for shorter sentences — and the rest are for pardons, which would expunge their criminal records. With pardons, Strickland must weigh the applicant's argument that he deserves a clean slate against society's right to know what he did.
Strickland, a Democrat who is a former prison psychologist, said every case and every pitch for clemency is different.
"It's across the board. The crimes that they have been convicted of are wide-ranging, all the way from nonviolent drug offenses to some brutal crimes, including murder," he said. "Everyone has their own set of circumstances and their own stories."
Raymond Marbury Jr., 36, applied for a pardon three years ago; and two years ago, the Ohio Parole Board recommended that Strickland grant it. Convicted of writing bad checks, forgery and receiving stolen property in 1992, Marbury has since earned undergraduate and graduate degrees, worked as a paralegal, bought a house, and made restitution. He would like his record to be expunged so it's easier to qualify for jobs, said Marbury, formerly of Dayton.
The Pew Center on the States released a report earlier this month that said one in 31 adult Americans are in jail or prison or on probation or parole and the rate in Ohio is one of 25.
Landing a job with a criminal record is nearly impossible, said Ohio Public Defender Tim Young. Nowadays, employers even turn away job applicants who have arrest records that show up on the Internet, he said.
Strickland admits a criminal record can be a barrier for employment.
"I think in some cases, it's likely to be huge impediment, but that does not mean that simply because of that, at least in my judgment, that clemency is merited or justified," he said.
Strickland said he's been personally reviewing every request and also takes into consideration input from his legal staff, sentencing judges, and the Ohio Parole Board.
Between Jan. 2004 and Aug. 2008, the parole board received 1,045 clemency requests. The board recommended only 2.5 percent of the 689 commutation requests should be granted, but said 44.3 percent of the 302 pardon requests should be granted.
Former Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican, granted 77 clemency requests, or 5.7 percent of the 1,355 applications received and processed during his eight years as governor.
Shortening sentences and wiping out criminal records can be politically dicey. In his final days in state office in 1991, Democrat Richard Celeste sparked controversy and headlines when he commuted the sentences of eight death row inmates to life without parole and granted pardons for 25 women who blamed their crimes on battered women syndrome.
Strickland said, "I think we are very close (to making decisions), but we want to make sure our decisions are rational and defensible."
Contact this reporter at
(614) 224-1624 or lbischoff@
DaytonDailyNews.com.
www.topix.com/us-governors/ted-strickland