CLEMENCY AND LIST OF CLEMENCIES

List of Clemencies Since 1976

Death sentences commuted or pardoned for humanitarian reasons in the United States since 1976. Mass commutations (entire death rows) are shown as single grouped entries. Reasons are summarized.

Year	Name	State	Reason
1977	Charles Harris Hill	GA	Sentence disproportionate to co-defendant, the actual killer.
1979	Learie Leo Alford	FL	Possible innocence.
1979	Clifford Hallman	FL	Death sentence inappropriate for the crime.
1980	Darrell Edwin Hoy	FL	Disproportionate to the triggerman’s sentence.
1980	Richard Henry Gibson	FL	Disproportionate to equally culpable co-defendants.
1981	Michael Salvatore	FL	Sentencing disparities among co-participants.
1983	Jesse Rutledge	FL	Possible innocence.
1986	5 prisoners (mass) — incl. Eddie Lee Adams, Joel Lee Compton, Richard Garcia, William Gilbert, Michael Guzman	NM	Commuted by Gov. Toney Anaya based on his opposition to the death penalty.
1987	Doris Ann Foster	MD	Doubts about guilt.
1988	Freddie Davis	GA	Disproportionate to co-defendant’s life sentence.
1988	David Cameron Keith	MT	Partial paralysis/blindness, remorse, religious conversion.
1989	Ronald Monroe	LA	Doubts about guilt.
1990	William Moore	GA	Exemplary record, remorse, victim’s family pleas.
1991	8 prisoners (mass) — incl. Debra Brown, Rosalie Grant, Elizabeth Green, Leonard Jenkins, Willie Jester, Beatrice Lampkin, Donald Lee Maurer, Lee Seiber	OH	Gov. Richard Celeste cited a “disturbing racial pattern” in death sentencing.
1991	Joseph Giarratano	VA	Possible innocence.
1991	Harold Williams	GA	Disproportionate to accomplice’s sentence.
1992	Herbert Bassette	VA	Possible innocence.
1992	Anson Avery Maynard	NC	Possible innocence.
1993	Bobbie Shaw	MO	Intellectual disability and mental illness; jury not informed.
1994	Earl Washington	VA	Possible innocence (later fully pardoned after DNA proved innocence).
1996	Gwen Garcia	IL	Death sentence inappropriate for the crime.
1996	Joseph Payne	VA	Possible innocence.
1996	Donald Paradis	ID	Possible innocence (conviction later overturned, released 2001).
1997	William Saunders	VA	Rehabilitation; prosecutor and trial judge recommended clemency.
1998	Henry Lee Lucas	TX	Possible innocence.
1999	Judith Ann Neelley	AL	Jury had recommended life; judge overrode the recommendation.
1999	Darrell Mease	MO	Granted at Pope John Paul II’s request during visit.
1999	Bobby Ray Fretwell	AR	A juror felt pressured to vote for death.
1999	Calvin Swann	VA	Severe mental illness; jury misinformed about its degree.
1999	Wendell Flowers	NC	Doubts about extent of involvement.
2000	Eugene Colvin-el	MD	Uncertainty about guilt.
2000	Earl Washington (pardon)	VA	Full pardon after DNA tests confirmed innocence.
2000	Marcus Carter	NC	Doubts about fairness of trial.
2001	David Ronald Chandler	Fed.	Principal accuser changed testimony (Pres. Clinton).
2001	Phillip Dewitt Smith	OK	Doubts about guilt.
2001	Robert Bacon, Jr.	NC	Life imprisonment “appropriate”; race concerns raised.
2002	Charlie Mason Alston	NC	Life “appropriate”; serious doubts about guilt.
2002	Alexander Williams	GA	Mental illness; juvenile at time of crime.
2002	Thomas Nevius	NV	Intellectual disability (after Atkins v. Virginia).
2003	Aaron Patterson	IL	Pardoned; concluded innocent (Gov. Ryan).
2003	Madison Hobley	IL	Pardoned; concluded innocent.
2003	Leroy Orange	IL	Pardoned; concluded innocent.
2003	Stanley Howard	IL	Pardoned; concluded innocent.
2003	167 prisoners (mass commutation) — full list of names	IL	Gov. George Ryan commuted the entire death row, citing the flawed process. Most to life without parole; three to 40 years with possibility of parole.
2003	Herbert Welcome	LA	Intellectual disability (Atkins v. Virginia).
2003	Jerome Campbell	OH	Doubts about DNA evidence unavailable at trial.
2003	Kevin Stanford	KY	Age 17 at time of crime.
2004	Willie James Hall	GA	Jurors would have chosen life without parole; good record.
2004	Osvaldo Torres	OK	Vienna Convention violation; ineffective counsel; ICJ ruling.
2004	Darnell Williams	IN	Co-defendant received life; execution would be unfair.
2005	Michael Daniels	IN	Doubts about culpability; mental status; legal process.
2005	Arthur P. Baird II	IN	Severe mental illness; jurors and victims’ family supported life.
2005	Robin Lovitt	VA	State clerk illegally destroyed trial evidence.
2007	Earl Washington (2nd pardon)	VA	Gov. Kaine’s pardon affirming full exoneration.
2007	Kenneth Foster	TX	Did not kill victim; tried jointly with the actual shooter.
2007	Michael Boyd	TN	Ineffective counsel; procedural limits on appeals.
2007	Jeffrey Leonard	KY	Attorney didn’t even know defendant’s name at trial.
2007	8 prisoners (mass) — incl. Marko Bey, David Cooper, Ambrose Harris, Nathaniel Harvey, Sean Kenney, John Martini, Jesse Timmendequas, Brian Wakefield	NJ	Gov. Jon Corzine commuted the entire death row, then abolished the death penalty.
2008	John Spirko	OH	Lack of physical evidence; residual doubt.
2008	Samuel David Crowe	GA	Exemplary behavior and remorse on death row.
2008	Percy Walton	VA	Serious mental illness; incompetent to be executed.
2008	Kevin Young	OK	Disproportionality; questionable witnesses.
2009	Jeffrey Hill	OH	Inadequate counsel; remorse; proportionality.
2010	Richard Tandy Smith	OK	Life without parole the more appropriate sentence.
2010	Richard Nields	OH	Validity of medical evidence questioned.
2010	Gaile Owens	TN	Rescinded plea bargain; consistency with similar cases.
2010	Kevin Keith	OH	Questions about evidence and investigation.
2010	Sidney Cornwell	OH	Abusive upbringing; genetic condition; proportionality.
2011	Richard Clay	MO	Evidence of possible innocence presented.
2011	Jerome Harbison	TN	Consistency with other sentences in the state.
2011	15 prisoners (mass) — incl. Rodney Adkins, Teodoro Baez, Dion Banks, Joseph Bannister, David Damm, Brian Dugan, Eric Hanson, Ricardo Harris, Anthony Mertz, Gary Pate, Daniel Ramsey, Paul Runge, Cecil Sutherland, Edward Tenney, Andrew Urdiales	IL	Gov. Pat Quinn commuted the entire death row, then abolished the death penalty.
2011	Shawn Hawkins	OH	Doubts about degree of involvement.
2011	Joseph Murphy	OH	Brutally abusive upbringing; young age at crime.
2012	Robert Gattis	DE	Childhood physical and sexual abuse never properly considered.
2012	Daniel Greene	GA	Prosecutor would have sought life without parole; intoxication.
2012	John Eley	OH	Limited mental capacity; acted under another (acquitted) man.
2012	Ronald Post	OH	Problems with legal representation.
2014	Arthur Tyler	OH	Questions surrounding the conviction.
2014	Tommy Waldrip	GA	Disproportionate to accomplices’ life sentences.
2015	4 prisoners (mass) — Vernon Evans, Anthony Grandison, Heath Burch, Jody Miles	MD	Gov. Martin O’Malley commuted remaining death sentences after abolition.
2015	Kimber Edwards	MO	The actual killer recanted testimony implicating Edwards.
2017	Abelardo Arboleda Ortiz	Fed.	Intellectual disability; Vienna Convention violation (Pres. Obama).
2017	Dwight Loving	Mil.	Granted by Pres. Obama.
2017	Ivan Teleguz	VA	Commuted to life without parole.
2017	Jason McGehee	AR	Parole board recommendation; sentencing disparity.
2017	William Joseph Burns	VA	Found mentally incompetent.
2018	Thomas “Bart” Whitaker	TX	Surviving victim (his father) opposed execution; triggerman not sentenced to death.
2018	William Montgomery	OH	Parole board recommended clemency.
2018	Raymond Tibbetts	OH	Critical mitigating evidence not presented; juror would have voted for life.
2019	Gregory Wilson	KY	Abysmal legal defense; racial disparity with co-defendant.
2019	Leif Halvorsen	KY	Rehabilitation and transformation in prison.
2020	Jimmy Meders	GA	Jury wanted life without parole (unavailable at the time); clean record.
2020	3 prisoners (mass) — Nathan Dunlap, Sir Mario Owens, Robert Ray	CO	Gov. Jared Polis commuted remaining death sentences alongside abolition.
2020	Renaldo Hudson	IL	2nd commutation (to time served) for exemplary transformation.
2021	Julius Jones	OK	Commuted four hours before execution (Gov. Stitt).
2022	17 prisoners (mass) — Jesse Compton, Clinton Cunningham, Randy Guzek, Gary Haugen, Michael Hayward, Robert Langley Jr., Christian Longo, Ernest Lotches, Michael McDonnell, Marco Montez, Horacio Reyes-Camarena, Ricardo Serrano, Matthew Thompson, Bruce Turnidge, Joshua Turnidge, Michael Washington Jr., Tara Zyst	OR	Gov. Kate Brown commuted the entire death row, calling the death penalty “dysfunctional and immoral.”
2025	Robin “Rocky” Myers	AL	Gov. Kay Ivey granted clemency, sparing him from execution.
2024	37 federal prisoners (mass)	Fed.	Pres. Biden commuted 37 of 40 federal death sentences to life without parole — largest presidential grant in the modern era.
2025	15 prisoners (mass)	NC	Gov. Roy Cooper — largest grant of capital clemency in North Carolina history.
2025	Tremane Wood	OK	Sentence reduced to match the life sentence given to his brother for the same crime.
2026	Charles “Sonny” Burton	AL	Did not fire the fatal shot; commuted two days before execution (Gov. Kay Ivey).

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