The short answer: When a sentence is commuted, the President has shortened it, sometimes so the person goes home right away. The conviction stays on the record, and lost rights aren’t restored. Commutation is how people still in federal prison ask the President for relief.
Commuting a sentence is a useful tool for the President. It can be used to make a statement on criminal justice reform and to show mercy. A pardon forgives the crime, although it does not erase it from a person’s criminal record (Office of the Pardon Attorney, Frequently Asked Questions). Pardons can sometimes draw negative attention. Commuting a sentence is a way to straddle this line, without the negative publicity. It will be interesting to see if the trend towards more petitions for commutation of a sentence increase and whether or not the granting of these petitions will continue to increase as well.
What does it mean to be commuted?
The President has the power to commute a federal prison sentence. This clemency power can be used to make a statement about criminal justice reform and to show mercy. Commutation of a sentence means a reduction in punishment. Typically, a commutation lessens a prison sentence, but it can also reduce court-ordered fines. A commuted sentence replaces the original court-ordered sentence. The president of the United States can commute a sentence. This power is granted within the overall pardon power of the president of the United States under Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution.
The Office of the Pardon Attorney
The Office of the Pardon Attorney handles the thousands of petitions for commutation of a sentence submitted every year to the president. Similar to the president’s ability to pardon an individual for a federal crime, the president can only commute federal sentences. The Office generally will not consider a petition until the petitioner has started his or her sentence. A petition for a commutation of a sentence will not be heard if the petitioner is challenging their sentence or going through the appeal process. A petitioner can ask for a commutation of the sentence or commutation for a reduction of the probation period, supervised release, or special parole.
The petition process is lengthy and strict. A petitioner must report any other crimes the petitioner has committed. A knowingly false statement can be punished by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine (18 U.S.C. §§ 1001 and 3571).
The Office of the Pardon Attorney is very transparent, stating on its commutation form that commutation is “an extraordinary remedy that is very rarely granted.” There is no in-person hearing, either by the Department of Justice or the White House. A petitioner cannot appeal the President’s decision to deny a clemency request.
Commutation of Sentence at the Federal Level
While the Office states that the granting of commutation of a sentence is rare, this action has increased with recent presidents. However, the number of petitions asking for commutation has increased along with it. For example, President Richard Nixon received 892 petitioners for commuting sentences. He granted 60 in his 67 months of being president. Contrast this statistic with more recent presidents. President Clinton received 5,488 petitions for commuting a sentence and granted 61 petitions. President Obama received 33,149 petitions for commutation of a sentence and granted 1,715. In his first term, President Trump granted 94, and President Biden later granted 4,165 (Justice Department clemency statistics).
President Obama notably issued a great number of commutations at one time. In one of his last acts as president, President Obama commuted 330 federal inmates’ sentences for drug crimes. President Obama used this commutation power to bring attention to his belief that the sentencing for drug crimes was unjustified. From the beginning of his presidency, President Obama stated he favored a reduction in sentencing for drug crimes. This very public stance most likely contributed to the tremendous amount of petitions for commutation of sentencing during his presidency. His 330 commutations were the most granted in a single day in United States history at the time. Along with these presidential actions, President Obama pressured Congress to pass reform on criminal justice sentencing, however, Congress was not able to pass legislation before President Obama’s term expired.
President Obama commuted the sentence of Chelsea Manning, the former Army intelligence analyst. Manning was convicted of a 2010 intelligence leak, revealing American military activities across the world. During incarceration, Manning came out as transgender. Manning was incarcerated at a men’s military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Her fate in an all-male prison contributed to President Obama’s decision to commute her sentence. At the time of President Obama’s commutation, Manning had already served seven years of her 35-year sentence. Manning’s sentence was widely reported as the longest in United States history for leaking classified information.
President George W. Bush received 8,576 petitions and granted 11 commutations. However, one was particularly newsworthy. President Bush commuted the sentence for former staffer Scooter Libby. Libby was an assistant to the Vice President on the National Security Affairs council and the Chief of Staff for the Vice President. Libby was sentenced to thirty months in federal prison after being convicted for perjury, obstruction of justice, and lying to investigators. Libby was questioned during the investigation into the 2003 leak of the identity of CIA officer Valerie Plame. He was convicted of lying to investigators and obstructing that investigation, not of the leak itself. This commutation was very controversial. Many Republicans wanted President Bush to pardon Libby. Pardoning Libby most likely would have caused significant outrage from Democrats, so President Bush commuted his sentence instead of pardoning the crime.
The Purpose of Pardons and Commutations
Commuting a sentence is a useful tool for the President. It can be used to make a statement on criminal justice reform and to show mercy. A pardon forgives the crime, although it does not erase it from a person’s criminal record. Pardons can sometimes draw negative attention. Commuting a sentence is a way to straddle this line, without the negative publicity. It will be interesting to see if the trend towards more petitions for commutation of a sentence increase and whether or not the granting of these petitions will continue to increase as well.
Will President Biden use his Powers of Clemency?
There has been much speculation in the last several months that President Biden will soon push into a massive “Obama-style” commutation drive to release thousands from Federal Prison. It remains unclear at this time what such a program would look like, but many are preparing applications now to get at the front of the line. Learn more about President Biden and Commutation.
Update: President Biden went on to grant 4,165 commutations (Justice Department clemency statistics).