The attorneys at Hope, O’Dwyer, Wilson & Arnold, P.A. will work with you to provide criminal defense solutions for felony offenses including drug charges and domestic abuse charges as well misdemeanor offenses including DUI and DWI offenses and traffic citations.
When a person has a criminal offense they would like off their record, or is incarcerated and would like to have that sentence commuted, a clemency application may be needed. The firm works closely with an individual in preparing an application for a pardon or commutation. While executive clemency is not often granted and not a matter of right, it may be the only avenue an individual has to having a criminal offense pardoned or their sentence commuted.
The process begins with an application that is provided to Institutional Release Services and is submitted to the Arkansas Parole Board. The board has the opportunity to review the application and make a recommendation. In certain instances, the board may afford the applicant a hearing. The parole board makes a “with merit” or “without merit” recommendation to the Governor. After at least a thirty (30) day comment period after the parole board recommendation the application is submitted to the Governor’s office.
The Governor has approximately eight (8) months to make a determination on the application in which he or she can grant the pardon or commutation, make any alteration appropriate, take no action, or deny the application and state a time frame limiting when another application can be submitted. If the Governor takes no action, a subsequent application can be submitted immediately to Institutional Release Services to start the process over.
The firm works closely with you and guides you along the way in helping prepare an application in the most favorable light to the parole board and Governor, including helping to obtain favorable letters or recommendations and all required documentation required. The firm represents an individual from preparing the application to be submitted to a decision by the Governor, including meeting with the parole board if afforded a hearing and meeting with the Governor’s staff to help support your application. The firm is well seasoned and has been successful in this process making the firm a valuable option for clemency applications.
