That's A Hard No —Louisiana Board of Pardons Denies ALL Death Row Clemency Applicants

Wednesday afternoon the report came through that the Louisiana Board of Pardons has denied ALL, not just one, two or a few, but every single clemency application before it. That’s the very definition of the hardest of ‘hard no’s.’

According to WDSU, the decision from the board was based upon an opinion issued by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry last week. The AG who is also running for Governor this election cycle came to the legal conclusion that the board should not waive the one-year eligibility requirement for clemency requests as it has done in the past.

Executive Director of the Board, Francis Abbott explained the mass rejection of all 56 applications in a statement.

"In a regularly scheduled meeting of the Louisiana Board of Pardons and after consideration of public comments, the Board voted to remove a Waiver Consideration of Board Rules from its agenda on Monday, July 24, 2023.

"As such, the Board is forced to return 56 commutation applications for offenders serving death sentences in Louisiana pending further review of their administrative rules and any possible revision that may result.

"Fifty-one of these applications were submitted by a group of attorneys on June 13, 2023, and an additional five were submitted over a course of the following two weeks.

“These have been the most scrutinized applications our office has ever processed. We have engaged all of our stakeholders at every step thus far and will continue to communicate with all concerned parties.” said Francis Abbott, executive director of the Louisiana Board of Pardons & Committee on Parole."

In Louisiana’s legal system, Governor John Bel Edwards is only capable of granting clemency or pardon with a favorable recommendation from the board. This move could preclude Bel Edwards, who has made his opposition to capital punishment well known, from granting clemency to many of the inmates.

In April the governor tweeted, “The death penalty doesn’t deter crime; it isn’t necessary for public safety; and it is wholly inconsistent with Louisiana’s pro-life values as it quite literally promotes a culture of death. For these reasons I support @RepKyleGreen’s bill to abolish the death penalty. #lagov”

The death penalty doesn’t deter crime; it isn’t necessary for public safety; and it is wholly inconsistent with Louisiana’s pro-life values as it quite literally promotes a culture of death. For these reasons I support @RepKyleGreen’s bill to abolish the death penalty. #lagov pic.twitter.com/rvB8RS6qNv

— Gov. John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) April 10, 2023

As reported by NOLA in June, Landry said in a statement at the time “I oppose clemency for all of these offenders who were given valid death sentences by juries of their peers," Landry said in a statement. "My office will formally oppose their applications.”