Ohio Gov. DeWine weighs pardons, commutations before leaving office

Gov. Mike DeWine created a faster path to pardons and now opposes the death penalty. Some hope that means he'll grant them clemency before he leaves office in January

Advocacy groups are urging Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to grant pardons and commutations before his term ends. Governors have the constitutional power to grant clemency, which includes pardons, commutations, and reprieves. Since 2019, DeWine has granted 396 clemency applications, many through an expedited project for non-violent offenders.

Several high-profile inmates, including some on death row, are seeking clemency from the governor.

With just three months left as Ohio governor, people are lobbying Mike DeWine for last-minute pardons and commutations.

"Death Penalty Action is calling for Gov. DeWine to free the innocent and commute the rest of Ohio's death row before leaving office," said Abe Bonowitz, a long-time advocate against capital punishment. "He's been very quiet about this, so all we can do is keep asking. We and a broad coalition of others are calling and writing him and drawing attention to this matter in any way that we can."

The ACLU of Ohio is running an email campaign to urge DeWine to issue commutations for everyone on death row who has exhausted their judicial appeals.

Governors hold the constitutional power to grant clemency to someone convicted of a crime, an extraordinary tool that can undo the work of another branch of government. A pardon is official forgiveness for a crime, a commutation is a reduction in a sentence, and a reprieve is a delay in a scheduled execution.

Over the past eight years, DeWine's practice has been to make clemency decisions throughout the year.

Since he became governor in January 2019, DeWine received 2,252 clemency applications; he granted 396 and denied 1,413; and 446 are still pending. He can exercise clemency power until his last day in office, Jan. 11.

How does clemency work in Ohio?

A pardon removes hurdles to housing, education, and employment that often come with a criminal conviction. It doesn't convey innocence or exoneration, but it's an act of mercy and forgiveness. A commutation is a reduction in a criminal sentence.

Under DeWine, there are two paths to a pardon: the traditional route, which can take more than a year, and the Expedited Pardon Project, which partners with law schools to fast-track pardon applications.

The Expedited Pardon Project has received more than 1,900 applications and resulted in 323 pardons and 14 denials. DeWine created the project in 2019 as an alternative for offenders who have lived model lives for at least a decade. Students and staff at law schools, including the University of Akron and Ohio State, help applicants assemble the required paperwork and make sure they meet qualifications.

The traditional route is open to all but can take more than a year and has a lower success rate.

On Aug. 31, the USA TODAY Ohio bureau asked the DeWine administration for the clemency applications for everyone granted a pardon through the traditional path since DeWine became governor. The request, which was made through Ohio’s open records law, is still pending.

In Ohio, state law bars the governor from granting clemency before the Ohio Parole Board has weighed in on an application. The board sends unfavorable recommendations for applications it determines lack merit. For applications that deserve more attention, the board will hold a hearing and then issue a recommendation to the governor. In all cases, the governor doesn't have to follow the parole board's recommendation.

Previous governors' track records on pardons

Ohio governors grant pardons at different rates and for different reasons. No governor in modern history has commuted a death sentence to set a prisoner free.

DeWine granted clemency in 22% of the cases where he has made a decision, including the expedited pardons.

Republican John Kasich granted just 86 pardons among the 2,291 applications—3.7%.

Democrat Ted Strickland approved about 20% of the 1,615 clemency applications he received. Most cases involved low-level, nonviolent offenses, but he commuted five death-penalty sentences to life in prison without parole.

Republicans George V. Voinovich, governor from 1991 to '98, and Bob Taft, governor from 1999 to 2007, each approved less than 10% of the clemency requests.

Democrat Richard F. Celeste, governor from 1983 to 1991, touched off a legal battle in the final days of his second term when he commuted the death sentences of eight men and granted clemency to 25 female prisoners who were victims of battered-woman syndrome. Legislators then changed state law to require governors to have a parole board recommendation before making a clemency decision.

DeWine, a former county prosecutor, hasn’t indicated whether he’ll grant clemency in the closing days of his governorship. 

Source: dispatch.com, Laura A. Bischoff, October 25, 2026

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."
— Oscar Wilde

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