Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice
Abstract
The note argues that state governors should revive the use of executive clemency as a corrective tool to address mass incarceration and its disproportionate impact on communities of color. Executive clemency, which includes pardons, commutations, and sentence reductions, offers a means to provide immediate relief and promote social justice. The author emphasizes the historical roots of clemency as a check on the criminal justice system and advocates for its use to reduce prison populations and counteract the legacy of punitive policies.
Disciplines
Comparative and Foreign Law | Criminal Law | Criminal Procedure | Law | Legal History | President/Executive Department
Recommended Citation
Laura Tierney,
Not Just Mercy: Governors Should Use the Executive Clemency Power as a Corrective Tool for Mass Incarceration,
31
Cardozo J. Equal Rts. & Soc. Just.
229
(2024).
Available at:
https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cardozoersj/vol31/iss1/8
Included in
Comparative and Foreign Law Commons, Criminal Law Commons, Criminal Procedure Commons, Legal History Commons, President/Executive Department Commons