[Title 28 CFR 1]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - July 1, 2002 Edition]
[Title 28 - JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION]
[Chapter I - DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE]
[Part 1 - EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


28JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION12002-07-012002-07-01false1PART 1JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATIONDEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
PART 1--EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY--Table of Contents




Sec.
1.1  Submission of petition; form to be used; contents of petition.
1.2  Eligibility for filing petition for pardon.
1.3  Eligibility for filing petition for commutation of sentence.
1.4  Offenses against the laws of possessions or territories of the 
          United States.
1.5  Disclosure of files.
1.6  Consideration of petitions; notification of victims; 
          recommendations to the President.
1.7  Notification of grant of clemency.
1.8  Notification of denial of clemency.
1.9  Delegation of authority.
1.10  Procedures applicable to prisoners under a sentence of death 
          imposed by a United States District Court.
1.11  Advisory nature of regulations.

    Authority: U.S. Const., Art. II, sec. 2; authority of the President 
as Chief Executive; and 28 U.S.C. 509, 510.

    Source: Order No. 1798-93, 58 FR 53658, Oct. 18, 1993, unless 
otherwise noted.



Sec. 1.1  Submission of petition; form to be used; contents of petition.

    A person seeking executive clemency by pardon, reprieve, commutation 
of sentence, or remission of fine shall execute a formal petition. The 
petition shall be addressed to the President of the United States and 
shall be submitted to the Pardon Attorney, Department of Justice, 
Washington, DC 20530, except for petitions relating to military 
offenses. Petitions and other required forms may be obtained from the 
Pardon Attorney. Petition forms for commutation of sentence also may be 
obtained from the wardens of federal penal institutions. A petitioner 
applying for executive clemency with respect to military offenses should 
submit his or her petition directly to the Secretary of the military 
department that had original jurisdiction over the court-martial trial 
and conviction of the petitioner. In such a case, a form furnished by 
the Pardon Attorney may be used but should be modified to meet the needs 
of the particular case. Each petition for executive clemency should 
include the information required in the form prescribed by the Attorney 
General.



Sec. 1.2  Eligibility for filing petition for pardon.

    No petition for pardon should be filed until the expiration of a 
waiting period of at least five years after the date of the release of 
the petitioner from confinement or, in case no prison sentence was 
imposed, until the expiration of a period of at least five years after 
the date of the conviction of the petitioner. Generally, no petition 
should be submitted by a person who is on probation, parole, or 
supervised release.



Sec. 1.3  Eligiblity for filing petition for commutation of sentence.

    No petition for commutation of sentence, including remission of 
fine, should be filed if other forms of judicial or administrative 
relief are available, except upon a showing of exceptional 
circumstances.

[[Page 98]]



Sec. 1.4  Offenses against the laws of possessions or territories of the United States.

    Petitions for executive clemency shall relate only to violations of 
laws of the United States. Petitions relating to violations of laws of 
the possessions of the United States or territories subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States should be submitted to the appropriate 
official or agency of the possession or territory concerned.



Sec. 1.5  Disclosure of files.

    Petitions, reports, memoranda, and communications submitted or 
furnished in connection with the consideration of a petition for 
executive clemency generally shall be available only to the officials 
concerned with the consideration of the petition. However, they may be 
made available for inspection, in whole or in part, when in the judgment 
of the Attorney General their disclosure is required by law or the ends 
of justice.



Sec. 1.6  Consideration of petitions; notification of victims; recommendations to the President.

    (a) Upon receipt of a petition for executive clemency, the Attorney 
General shall cause such investigation to be made of the matter as he or 
she may deem necessary and appropriate, using the services of, or 
obtaining reports from, appropriate officials and agencies of the 
Government, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
    (b)(1) When a person requests clemency (in the form of either a 
commutation of a sentence or a pardon after serving a sentence) for a 
conviction of a felony offense for which there was a victim, and the 
Attorney General concludes from the information developed in the 
clemency case that investigation of the clemency case warrants 
contacting the victim, the Attorney General shall cause reasonable 
effort to be made to notify the victim or victims of the crime for which 
clemency is sought:
    (i) That a clemency petition has been filed;
    (ii) That the victim may submit comments regarding clemency; and
    (iii) Whether the clemency request ultimately is granted or denied 
by the President.
    (2) In determining whether contacting the victim is warranted, the 
Attorney General shall consider the seriousness and recency of the 
offense, the nature and extent of the harm to the victim, the 
defendant's overall criminal history and history of violent behavior, 
and the likelihood that clemency could be recommended in the case.
    (3) For the purposes of this paragraph (b), ``victim'' means an 
individual who:
    (i) Has suffered direct or threatened physical, emotional, or 
pecuniary harm as a result of the commission of the crime for which 
clemency is sought (or, in the case of an individual who died or was 
rendered incompetent as a direct and proximate result of the commission 
of the crime for which clemency is sought, one of the following 
relatives of the victim (in order of preference): the spouse; an adult 
offspring; or a parent); and
    (ii) Has on file with the Federal Bureau of Prisons a request to be 
notified pursuant to 28 CFR 551.152 of the offender's release from 
custody.
    (4) For the purposes of this paragraph (b), ``reasonable effort'' is 
satisfied by mailing to the last-known address reported by the victim to 
the Federal Bureau of Prisons under 28 CFR 551.152.
    (5) The provisions of this paragraph (b) apply to clemency cases 
filed on or after September 28, 2000.
    (c) The Attorney General shall review each petition and all 
pertinent information developed by the investigation and shall determine 
whether the request for clemency is of sufficient merit to warrant 
favorable action by the President. The Attorney General shall report in 
writing his or her recommendation to the President, stating whether in 
his or her judgment the President should grant or deny the petition.

[Order No. 2323-2000, 65 FR 58223, Sept. 28, 2000]



Sec. 1.7  Notification of grant of clemency.

    When a petition for pardon is granted, the petitioner or his or her 
attorney shall be notified of such action and the warrant of pardon 
shall be mailed

[[Page 99]]

to the petitioner. When commutation of sentence is granted, the 
petitioner shall be notified of such action and the warrant of a 
commutation shall be sent to the petitioner through the officer in 
charge of his or her place of confinement, or directly to the petitioner 
if he/she is on parole, probation, or supervised release.



Sec. 1.8  Notification of denial of clemency.

    (a) Whenever the President notifies the Attorney General that he has 
denied a request for clemency, the Attorney General shall so advise the 
petitioner and close the case.
    (b) Except in cases in which a sentence of death has been imposed, 
whenever the Attorney General recommends that the President deny a 
request for clemency and the President does not disapprove or take other 
action with respect to that adverse recommendation within 30 days after 
the date of its submission to him, it shall be presumed that the 
President concurs in that adverse recommendation of the Attorney 
General, and the Attorney General shall so advise the petitioner and 
close the case.



Sec. 1.9  Delegation of authority.

    The Attorney General may delegate to any officer of the Department 
of Justice any of his or her duties or responsibilities under Secs. 1.1 
through 1.8.



Sec. 1.10  Procedures applicable to prisoners under a sentence of death imposed by a United States District Court.

    The following procedures shall apply with respect to any request for 
clemency by a person under a sentence of death imposed by a United 
States District Court for an offense against the United States. Other 
provisions set forth in this part shall also apply to the extent they 
are not inconsistent with this section.
    (a) Clemency in the form of reprieve or commutation of a death 
sentence imposed by a United States District Court shall be requested by 
the person under the sentence of death or by the person's attorney 
acting with the person's written and signed authorization.
    (b) No petition for reprieve or commutation of a death sentence 
should be filed before proceedings on the petitioner's direct appeal of 
the judgment of conviction and first petition under 28 U.S.C. 2255 have 
terminated. A petition for commutation of sentence should be filed no 
later than 30 days after the petitioner has received notification from 
the Bureau of Prisons of the scheduled date of execution. All papers in 
support of a petition for commutation of sentence should be filed no 
later than 15 days after the filing of the petition itself. Papers filed 
by the petitioner more than 15 days after the commutation petition has 
been filed may be excluded from consideration.
    (c) The petitioner's clemency counsel may request to make an oral 
presentation of reasonable duration to the Office of the Pardon Attorney 
in support of the clemency petition. The presentation should be 
requested at the time the clemency petition is filed. The family or 
families of any victim of an offense for which the petitioner was 
sentenced to death may, with the assistance of the prosecuting office, 
request to make an oral presentation of reasonable duration to the 
Office of the Pardon Attorney.
    (d) Clemency proceedings may be suspended if a court orders a stay 
of execution for any reason other than to allow completion of the 
clemency proceeding.
    (e) Only one request for commutation of a death sentence will be 
processed to completion, absent a clear showing of exceptional 
circumstances.
    (f) The provisions of this Sec. 1.10 apply to any person under a 
sentence of death imposed by a United States District Court for whom an 
execution date is set on or after August 1, 2000.

[Order No. 2317-2000, 65 FR 48381, August 8, 2000]



Sec. 1.11  Advisory nature of regulations.

    The regulations contained in this part are advisory only and for the 
internal guidance of Department of Justice personnel. They create no 
enforceable rights in persons applying for executive clemency, nor do 
they restrict the authority granted to the President

[[Page 100]]

under Article II, section 2 of the Constitution.

[Order No. 1798-93, 58 FR 53658, Oct. 18, 1993. Redesignated by Order 
No. 2317-2000, 65 FR 48381, August 8, 2000]