Ending life and long sentences: Using clemency often—A return to mercy and justice (Part 3 of 3)
Introduction
Michigan’s criminal legal system faces a crisis born from decades of excessively punitive sentencing policies. As explored in Parts 1 and 2 of this series, life and excessively long sentences have resulted in an aging prison population, significant racial and gender disparities, and an overburdened Department of Corrections. While legislative reforms such as Second Look policies could offer a pathway to address some of these issues, another critical, underutilized solution lies within the power of the Executive Branch: clemency.
Historically, Michigan has been a leader in progressive justice reforms. It was the first state in the nation to abolish the death penalty in 1846. For much of the 20th century, Michigan utilized clemency powers robustly, with the Parole Board and Governor’s office collaborating to offer release to rehabilitated individuals. These practices served as a model for balancing public safety with the principles of mercy and justice. However, as the state embraced “tough on crime” policies in the latter half of the century, clemency fell into disuse, leaving thousands to languish in prison with little hope of relief.
Nationally, clemency has played a crucial role in addressing systemic issues. Recent actions from both President Biden and President Trump demonstrate the capacity of executive power to correct injustices, such as addressing excessive punishments or recognizing rehabilitation among incarcerated individuals. By leveraging lessons from federal clemency practices, Michigan’s leaders have an opportunity to embrace reforms that align with a broader movement toward justice and equity.
As Michigan’s criminal justice system faces a growing crisis, the lessons from our progressive past and national examples provide a clear path forward. This article explores how a return to robust clemency practices could address the growing humanitarian and fiscal crises in Michigan’s prisons, correct systemic inequities, and offer redemption to those who have demonstrated profound change. Drawing on Michigan’s historical clemency practices, contemporary research, and national examples, we make the case for Governor Whitmer to embrace clemency as a moral and constitutional imperative.
The power and promise of clemency
A governor’s power to relieve someone from their sentence has been a fundamental feature of Michigan’s legal framework since the state’s first constitution was adopted in 1835.1 At that time, the term “pardon” was the legal action used to erase a conviction, and the power to forgive a conviction has remained ensconced at every opening of the constitution since. In the 1963 constitutional convention, commutation was explicitly added to the list of clemency powers to provide relief for long sentences.2
Clemency is not merely an act of grace; it is a constitutional mechanism designed to correct injustices and offer mercy.
Nationally, executive clemency demonstrates the power of leadership to address systemic inequities and recognize individual transformation. Recent presidential actions highlight the potential of clemency to balance justice and mercy, offering a pathway to address over-sentencing and systemic injustice. By incorporating such lessons, Michigan can leverage clemency to address its unique challenges while aligning with broader reform movements.
In unique and independent research undertaken by the American Friends Service Committee’s Michigan Criminal Justice Program and the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, the following facts were discovered about Michigan’s current prison population:
When it comes to extremely long prison sentences and actual time served in prison, Michigan leads the way. Nationally, 17% of individuals serving prison sentences have served 10 years or more. In Michigan, one-third (32%) of the prison population has served 10 years or more. Further, 41% of the Michigan prison population will have to serve at least 10 years before becoming eligible for parole. Most of those individuals will have to serve much more than ten years before becoming eligible for parole. Finally, nearly 4,500 people (approximately 14% of the full Michigan prison population) will spend the rest of their lives in prison, however many years that may be for each of them.3
And according to the MDOC’s Offender Tracking Information System, as of January 6, 2025, we know the following to be true:
- 1 in 7 people serving a prison sentence in Michigan is serving a life sentence.
- 1 in 6 Black individuals in Michigan prisons is serving a life sentence.
- 1 in 4 women in Michigan is serving 20 years or more in prison.
- 1 in 9 Black women in Michigan is serving 20 years or more.
- Nearly 4,500 individuals (approximately 14% of the prison population) will spend the rest of their lives in prison, however many years that may be for each of them.4
These alarming statistics underscore Michigan’s overreliance on extreme sentencing. Clemency provides an opportunity to address this crisis while upholding principles of justice and equity.
A historical precedent for success
Michigan’s historical use of clemency powers demonstrates its potential to balance justice, public safety, and mercy. From the 1930s through the mid-20th century, clemency was a cornerstone of Michigan’s corrections system. A 1964 memorandum from the Department of Corrections to Governor George Romney described the rigorous review process for the first-degree murder commutation program, emphasizing its success rate. Between 1938 and 1964, only six individuals out of 286 who had their life sentences commuted violated parole, most for technical reasons.5
This unparalleled success reflects the careful screening by the Parole Board and the rehabilitative potential of those serving long sentences.
“The program has been extremely successful. Lifers not only make the best inmates, but also the best prospects for rehabilitation and successful adjustment in the community,” noted Director Gus Harrison in his communication with Governor Romney.6 Harrison also observed that delays or denials of clemency recommendations negatively impacted inmate morale and undermined the broader corrections system’s rehabilitative goals.7 These historical insights underline the humanity and practicality of clemency as a tool for systemic change.
The moral imperative for clemency
Women, particularly survivors of domestic and sexual violence, also face unique injustices. Research demonstrates 90% of women in prisons experienced sexual and/or physical violence before coming to prison.8 Robust clemency practices can provide much-needed relief to these survivors, allowing them to rebuild their lives and reducing the burden on our overextended prison system.
As legal historian Rachel Barkow argues in Prisoners of Politics: Breaking the Cycle of Mass Incarceration, clemency serves as an essential safeguard against the inherent fallibility of the judicial system.9 Criminologists and legal scholars, including Jonathan Simon and Christopher Seeds, critique the excessive nature of sentencing in the United States. Simon, in Governing Through Crime, identifies the overuse of punitive measures as a response to societal fears, despite a lack of evidence supporting their efficacy.10 Seeds, in Death by Prison: The Emergence of Life Without Parole and Perpetual Confinement, highlights how life sentences and lengthy incarceration fail to deter crime and instead compound social harm.11
Organizations like the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) have specifically documented how juries perpetuate these injustices. Research consistently shows that juries are less likely to empathize with defendants who are Black, Brown, or poor, leading to disproportionately harsher sentences for these groups.12 Moreover, implicit biases and structural inequalities in jury selection processes frequently exclude people of color, making juries less representative and often less equitable in their judgments.
Clemency offers a critical tool for addressing these inequities, particularly for communities disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system.
Recommendations for reform
To rebuild Michigan’s clemency process and address systemic challenges, we propose the following reforms:13
Immediate reforms
1. Instruct MDOC to prioritize lifer reviews: Conduct parole guideline assessments for all individuals who have served 20 years or more. High-probability candidates should have their status reviewed and encouraged for commutation applications.
2. Rescind prohibitive policies: Reverse the MDOC’s prohibition on staff writing support letters for commutation. Staff insights are invaluable for evaluating a candidate’s rehabilitation and readiness for reintegration.
Structural changes
3. Issue an executive order on clemency: Establish a clemency review board with ten members—five within the Parole Board and five independent reviewers—to evaluate applications, interview candidates, and expedite the process.
Cultural and procedural reforms
4. Address cultural issues in MDOC: Implement external reviews to analyze the prison environment and identify barriers to rehabilitation. Strategies should counteract systemic dehumanization and promote community-oriented success.
5. Public hearings and transparency: Conduct clemency hearings that focus on rehabilitation and future support plans, rather than retrying past offenses. Reduce the Attorney General’s role in these hearings to ensure fairness
Clemency and human transformation
Clemency rests on the foundational belief that human beings are capable of change. Decades of research support this principle. Studies consistently demonstrate that people who have served long sentences are among the least likely to reoffend upon release.14 Age is one of the most reliable predictors of recidivism, with rates dropping significantly as people grow older. By the time many individuals with life sentences have served 15-20 years, they have demonstrated extensive rehabilitation and pose no threat to public safety.
Clemency also addresses the inherent limitations of the legal system. As Michelle Alexander argues in The New Jim Crow, the criminal justice system in the United States is deeply rooted in historical practices of racial control.15
Clemency provides an opportunity to confront these legacies and offer redemptive justice to those who have been most harmed by systemic inequities.
Conclusion
If Governor Whitmer were to embrace clemency more fully, it would not only address the growing humanitarian crisis of an aging prison population but also take a stand against the racial, gender, and class inequities perpetuated by the current system. Clemency provides a way to restore hope and dignity while realigning Michigan’s justice system with values many of us hold close: Values of mercy, redemption, and second chances.
Through clemency, Governor Whitmer can set a national example, demonstrating that justice rooted in mercy is not only possible but transformative. It is time for Michigan’s leaders to honor the constitutional principles of mercy and justice by prioritizing clemency as a tool for systemic change.
Endnotes
1 Const 1835, art 5, § 11.
2 Id., art 5, § 14.
3 University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy & American Friends Service Committee, Second Look Legislation: A Ford School Policy Briefing (2024), p 1 <https://afsc.org/sites/default/files/2024-03/second-look-legislation-a-ford-school-policy-briefing_2.pdf> (accessed January 21, 2025).
4 As of January 6, 2025, the MDOC’s OTIS website data included 4,349 people who were serving life sentences in Michigan—the vast majority of whom are serving life without parole. An additional 6,483 people are serving 20-year minimums or more.
5 Second Look Legislation, supra note 3 at 16 (memorandum from Parole Board Chair Leonard R. McConnell to Director Gus Harrison).
6 Id. at 19 (letter from Director Gus Harrison to Governor Romney).
7 Id.
8 Council on Women’s Justice, Women’s Justice, A Preliminary Assessment of Women in the Criminal Justice System (July 2024) <https://counciloncj.org/womens-justice-a-preliminary-assessment-of-women-in-the-criminal-justice-system/#8> (accessed January 22, 2025).
9 Barkow, R., Prisoners of Politics: Breaking the cycle of mass incarceration (Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2019).
10 Simon, J., Governing through crime: How the war on crime transformed American democracy and created a culture of fear (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).
11 Seeds, C., Death by prison: The emergence of life without parole and perpetual confinement (Oakland: University of California Press, 2022).
12Equal Justice Initiative, Race and the Jury <https://eji.org/report/race-and-the-jury/> (accessed January 22, 2025).
13 Our full report on clemency recommendations for Governor Whitmer is available at The American Friends Service Committee, Recommendations for Clemency Process: A Community Centered Approach < https://afsc.org/sites/default/files/2024-08/recommendations-for-clemency-process-updated-1.pdf> (accessed January 22, 2025).
14 The Sentencing Project, Incarceration and Crime: A weak relationship (2024) <https://www.sentencingproject.org/reports/incarceration-and-crime-a-weak-relationship> (accessed January 22, 2025).
15 Alexander, M., The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the age of colorblindness (New York: The New Press, 2010).
Natalie Holbrook-Combs
Peter J. Martel
American Friends Service Committee
Natalie Holbrook-Combs has worked against the punishment system and for collective accountability and healing for 20 years. Natalie’s work is centered around ending life and long sentences in Michigan. Organizing with people in prison and people who have been to prison, through her paid work with the American Friends Service Committee’s Michigan Criminal Justice Program, has been the most meaningful calling and privilege imaginable. She also organizes with Liberate Don’t Incarcerate (LDI), a Washtenaw County abolitionist organization, committed to dreaming and working into existence a county rooted in healing and transformation, not punishment, vengeance, and cages. Two of the greatest gifts she has experienced in her organizing have been through building with Siwatu-Salama Ra’s Freedom Team and Tashiena Lanay Combs’ Freedom Team.
Pete Martel is the Associate Program Director at AFSC’s Michigan Criminal Justice Program in Ypsilanti, Michigan. In this role he works with volunteers and interns to carry out direct service advocacy work with people incarcerated in Michigan’s prison system. He is leading up individual liberation work for long and life serving people in Michigan’s prisons. He has worked in various capacities in Michigan’s criminal legal system. His research interests include the legal system, criminal procedure, and punishment. Pete loves music.
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