The Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles is a five-member committee authorized to grant paroles, pardons, reprieves, remissions, commutations, and, according to the Board's website, "to restore civil and political rights". Created by Constitutional amendment in 1943, it is part of the executive branch of Georgia's government. Members are appointed by the governor to staggered, renewable seven-year terms subject to confirmation by the State Senate.[1][2]
Each year the Board elects one of its members to serve as chairman. The current chairman of the Board is James E. Donald, whose term began on January 5, 2009 and will end on December 31, 2015. Donald was elected chairman in June 2010 and re-elected in May 2011.[3][2]
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The Board is the primary authority in Georgia assigned the power to grant pardons, paroles, and other forms of clemency. Parole is the discretionary decision of the Board to release a certain offender from confinement after he or she has served an appropriate portion of a prison sentence. Persons on parole remain under state supervision and control according to conditions which, if violated, allow for re-imprisonment.
Clemency is given by the Board at its discretion. The Board is the primary Georgia authority with the ability to commute death sentences (the Supreme Court of Georgia also has this authority). Georgia is one of the three states whose governor does not have the authority to grant clemency, although he retains indirect influence by virtue of his power to appoint Board members.
The Board has been the subject of international media attention due to its handling of the death row case of Troy Anthony Davis, an African-American sports coach who was convicted in 1991 of murder based largely on eyewitness identification. Davis was convicted despite a lack of physical evidence presented at trial; no murder weapon was ever found, nor was any DNA evidence linking Davis to the crime. Furthermore, a majority of the eyewitnesses who testified in Davis's initial trial have since recanted their testimony under sworn affidavits. Other questions have arisen regarding Davis's guilt, including the assertion of some of the original witnesses that another man was the actual perpetrator. Davis has steadfastly claimed throughout the years that he was wrongfully convicted of the crime. The courts say they have given Davis ample time to prove this point but new evidence and recanted testimony didn't happen until his limitations time had passed.
The Board stayed Davis's scheduled July 17, 2007 execution, but a year later it refused to postpone his new date of September 23, 2008. The Supreme Court of the United States convened an emergency hearing on whether or not to issue a stay; the Court decided in favor of a stay just two hours before the planned execution. When later considering whether to have a complete retrial, the Supreme Court denied certiorari, and allowed the State of Georgia to acquire a new execution warrant for Mr. Davis, whose new execution date was set for October 27, 2008.
On October 24, 2008, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a stay of execution, pending a decision on Davis's federal habeas corpus petition. This stay was later overturned.
The Fairness for Prisoners' Families organization has leveled heavy criticism at the Board and similar Georgia authorities, although it notes that the symptoms it criticizes may not necessarily be intentional.