Capital Clemency Resource Initiative Update

In 2019, the Project’s Capital Clemency Resource Initiative (CCRI) continued to produce resources for attorneys, scholars, journalists, and members of the public interested in clemency in death penalty cases. Via its unique resource website capitalclemency.org, in October 2019 the CCRI published a 25-page memorandum regarding the capital clemency process in Texas. This document provides in-depth information regarding the various procedural mechanisms for seeking clemency in Texas, as well as information regarding the state's current clemency decision makers and history of clemencies and controversial executions. With the addition of Texas, the website now hosts similarly comprehensive memoranda regarding death penalty clemency procedures in 14 capital jurisdictions. The corresponding state clemency websites have all been newly updated in 2019 with the most recent information regarding new decision makers, death penalty cases, and clemency and other relevant decisions. The CCRI expects to add at least five more state memoranda in the first part of 2020. Also in 2020, the CCRI is excited to undertake the development of resource and educational materials designed specifically for capital clemency decision makers such as governors, gubernatorial staff, and members of parole and pardons boards.