(a) There is established a Clemency Board within the EOM to review the applications of District offenders and determine which applicants to recommend to the President of the United States for clemency. The EOM's General Counsel shall provide staff, office space, and administrative support to the Board.
(b) The Board shall:
(1) Develop criteria and an application for clemency recommendations and publicize the application procedure;
(2) Review each application and determine, within 6 months after a complete application is received, whether to recommend the application to the President of the United States;
(3) Consider both cases of actual innocence and cases of those who are remorseful and can show that they have been rehabilitated;
(4) Give special consideration to applicants who are terminally ill or elderly, or who no longer present a danger to the community;
(5) Develop criteria for the consideration of an applicant's background, which may include procedures by which the Board obtains information from outside organizations that the applicant has interacted with;
(6) Whenever feasible, conduct in-person, telephone, or video conference hearings with applicants;
(7) Allow applicants to have access to an attorney or non-attorney representative at any hearing before the Board;
(8) When the Board decides to recommend an application to the President of the United States:
(A) Send the application, along with a narrative describing why the Board recommended the application, to the Office of the Pardon Attorney and to the President of the United States; and
(B) Provide notification, to include the applicant's name, to the Chairman of the Council and the chairperson of the Council committee with jurisdiction over judiciary matters; and
(9) Track and publish the number of applications the Board grants and denies, including the number of applications recommended to the President of the United States, in an annual report to the Council and on the EOM's website; provided, that the annual report shall exclude personally identifiable information.
(Dec. 13, 2018, D.C. Law 22-197, § 203, 65 DCR 9554.)
Emergency LegislationFor temporary (90-day) creation of this chapter, see §§ 3111 through 3118 of the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Support Emergency Act of 2018, effective July 30, 2018 (D.C. Act 22-434; 65 DCR 8200).