COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Results from a program to make applying for pardons simpler and faster have been a disappointment, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday as he made a push to promote the program he launched a year ago.
The Republican governor launched the Expedited Pardon Project in December 2019 to speed up the clemency process for residents who have a felony conviction but have become contributing members of society.
Nine people received a pardon in the project’s first year, but the state estimates thousands of others qualify. DeWine held an online event to spread the word and encourage more people to apply.
“I am sure that there are thousands of Ohioans, who if we had the facts in front of us, and we knew what they have done since they committed the crime, since they got that felony, that we would look at that and say, ‘Well, that person certainly should be given a pardon,’” DeWine said.
The program speeds up the screening process and designates hearing dates before the parole board, reducing the application process from several years to a matter of months.
Eligible applicants must have completed their sentence at least 10 years earlier, have had no other criminal convictions, must work or explain why they can’t, and must have contributed to the community in some way.
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