Latest Pardons and commutations News

Oregon's governor pardons thousands for pot convictions
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown announced Monday she is pardoning an estimated 45,000 people convicted of simple possession of marijuana, a month after President Joe Biden did the same under federal law. “No one deserves to be forever saddled with the impacts of a conviction for simple...
North Macedonia to pardon violators of pandemic measures
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP) — North Macedonia is planning to pardon more than 1,200 people who face prison sentences because they have failed to pay fines for violating restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Justice Minister Nikola Tupancheski said the criminal court in the...
Myanmar's military commutes jail terms of election officials
BANGKOK (AP) — Myanmar’s military-installed government announced Wednesday that it has released the former chairman and another member of the country's election commission who were jailed for alleged fraud in the 2020 general election. The military's information office said in a...

Tennessee DA seeks death sentence commutation, AG against
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee's conservative attorney general and Nashville's liberal district attorney are at odds over whether a death row inmate is intellectually disabled and consequently should not be executed. The case involves Byron Black, a 66-year-old inmate convicted...

California governor pardons abortion activist from 1940s
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday posthumously pardoned an abortion activist from the 1930s and 1940s, acting days before Californians finish voting on whether to enshrine increased protections in the state Constitution in response to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision. ...

Arizona death row prisoner's clemency bid rejected by board
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s clemency board unanimously declined on Thursday to recommend that the governor commute a man's death sentence to life in prison, keeping the inmate's planned execution on track for his conviction in two 1980 killings. The decision by the Arizona Board of...
