Minnesota Board of Pardons
Encyclopedia
The Minnesota Board of Pardons is the pardon board
of the state
of Minnesota
. The Board of Pardons consists of the Governor of Minnesota
, the chief justice
of the Minnesota Supreme Court
, and Minnesota Attorney General. The board has to power to grant executive clemency
(pardons and reprieves) and commutation of sentence
s of any person convicted
of any offense against the laws of the state, subject to certain regulations.
The Board of Pardons is required by law to hold at least twice each year and whenever it takes formal action on an application for a pardon or commutation of sentence. All board meetings are be open to the public.
The Board is also required to file a written report with the Minnesota Legislature
by February 15 of each year containing the following information: the number of applications received by the board during the preceding calendar year for pardons, pardons extraordinary, and commutations of sentence, the number of applications granted by the board for each category, and the crimes for which the applications were granted by the board, the year of each conviction, and the age of the offender at the time of the offense.
Parole Board
A parole board is a panel of people who decide whether an offender should be released from prison on parole after serving at least a minimum portion of their sentence as prescribed by the sentencing judge. Parole boards are used in many jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom and the United...
of the state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. The Board of Pardons consists of the Governor of Minnesota
Governor of Minnesota
The Governor of Minnesota is the chief executive of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty different people have been governors of the state, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. Alexander Ramsey, the first territorial...
, the chief justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
of the Minnesota Supreme Court
Minnesota Supreme Court
The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota and consists of seven members. The court was first assembled as a three-judge panel in 1849 when Minnesota was still a territory. The first members were lawyers from outside of the region who were appointed by...
, and Minnesota Attorney General. The board has to power to grant executive clemency
Pardon
Clemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
(pardons and reprieves) and commutation of sentence
Commutation of sentence
Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. Unlike a pardon, a commutation does not nullify the conviction and is often conditional. Clemency is a similar term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime...
s of any person convicted
Conviction
In law, a conviction is the verdict that results when a court of law finds a defendant guilty of a crime.The opposite of a conviction is an acquittal . In Scotland and in the Netherlands, there can also be a verdict of "not proven", which counts as an acquittal...
of any offense against the laws of the state, subject to certain regulations.
The Board of Pardons is required by law to hold at least twice each year and whenever it takes formal action on an application for a pardon or commutation of sentence. All board meetings are be open to the public.
The Board is also required to file a written report with the Minnesota Legislature
Minnesota Legislature
The Minnesota Legislature is the legislative branch of government in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature located at the Minnesota Capitol in Saint Paul and it consists of two houses: the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota Senate...
by February 15 of each year containing the following information: the number of applications received by the board during the preceding calendar year for pardons, pardons extraordinary, and commutations of sentence, the number of applications granted by the board for each category, and the crimes for which the applications were granted by the board, the year of each conviction, and the age of the offender at the time of the offense.