The Board of Pardons and Paroles will accept additional materials – including letters of support or opposition, faxed to 467-0945 – for consideration of the clemency petition filed on behalf of James Allridge III, through Monday, Aug. 23. Allridge is scheduled for execution on Aug. 26. Inmates seeking clemency are given no written guidelines on the process and have no opportunity for a live hearing before the board. In fact, the board does not meet; members review the case documentation individually and vote by fax in time to make a recommendation to Gov. Rick Perry, who appointed them. If the board recommends clemency, the governor can accept or reject that recommendation. If the board rejects clemency, the governor cannot legally overrule the decision but has the power to grant one 30-day reprieve. Since 1999, the Board of Pardons and Paroles has received more than 120 requests for clemency. It has recommended clemency in only three, all of them this year. Gov. Perry has granted clemency just once.
This article appears in August 20 • 2004.