Do you want a pardon? We will prepare your petition!

WHAT IS CLEMENCY?
There are two kinds of pardons: 1) Federal pardon, and 2) State pardon. If you have been convicted of a federal crime, the only person who can grant you a pardon for that crime is President Barack Obama. If you have been convicted of a state crime, the only person who can grant you a pardon for that crime is the Governor of the state where you were convicted. For example if you were convicted in Illinois, the only person who can pardon you is Governor Pat Quinn.

SUCCESSFUL COMPLETTION OF FELONY PROBATION: DO I NEED A PARDON?
Although you did not go to prison, that does not mean you do not have a conviction. In fact, to the contrary; felony probation is a conviction, just as much as going to prison. The judge could have sentenced you to prison but instead he gave you felony probation. Felony probation is not expungeable, and it is not sealable. There are some exceptions with a Class 4 felony. Unless you fall into this exception, your only option is to seek a Governor's pardon.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF "PARDON POWER"
1. Clemency: this term is used interchangeably with the other terms below. There are different types of clemency.

2. Pardon: You are asking for forgiveness of your conviction, whether you are in prison or you have already served your time.

3. Commutation: You are in prison and you are asking for your sentence to be reduced. This is not a pardon but you are getting out of prison earlier than the original sentence.

4. Reprieve: You are in prison and you are asking for the death penalty to be stayed.

PROCESS
Each state has a different procedure as to how someone would go about seeking clemency. In Illinois, a person seeking clemency must:

1. Submit a petition to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board: this petition includes all the information about your case and why you feel you should be pardoned by the Governor. (You can retain us to prepare & submit your petition!)

2. Optional hearing before the Board: After the petition has been submitted, you have the opportunity for a hearing; you present your case before the Board as to why you should be pardoned. (We also appear at your hearing!)

3. The Board makes a confidential recommendation to the Governor, whether they think you should be pardoned.

4. The petition awaits final denial or approval from the Governor. By law, the Governor is not required to make a decision within any period of time. That means you must wait for an answer. You cannot even re-petition the Governor if no decision has been made.

DENIAL: If the Governor denies your petition, you can re-petition one year after the denial. You are never completely barred from seeking a pardon. Keep asking until you are granted the pardon!

APPROVAL: If the Governor grants your pardon request, he will (in most cases) also request an order from the court that your record also must be expunged. A pardon alone, without the order to expunge, does not remove the record of conviction from public access. If you were asking for a commutation of sentence, you will be released from prison; however, a commutation does not mean your conviction will be removed.

WHAT ARE MY CHANCES OF RECEVING A GOVERNOR'S PARDON?
Your chances of a pardon are as good as the petition you submit: There is no guarantee that your pardon will be granted because the final decision is left up to one person: the Governor. If a pardon is your only option, then you should petition for one; otherwise, the (felony) remove conviction is on your record forever. Your chances are as good as your case. If you made one mistake many years ago and since then you haven't been in trouble, you have gotten a job and have raised a family or completed a degree, then your chances are better than the person who has been arrested several times since the conviction, has no job experience and no education. The better you can present yourself and your case to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and the Governor, the better your chance of receiving the pardon. You don't get unless you ask and you have nothing to lose for asking, so ask for that pardon! We suggest hiring an attorney who knows how to prepare a petition for clemency. Just like you would hire a divorce attorney to help you with your divorce, you should hire a pardon attorney to help you seek a pardon!

SUCCESSFUL COMPLETTION OF FELONY PROBATION – DO I NEED A PARDON?
Just because you did not go to prison, that does not mean you don't have a conviction. In fact, to the contrary; felony probation is a conviction, just as much as going to prison. The judge could have sentenced you to prison but instead he gave you felony probation. Felony probation is not expungeable, and it is not sealable. (Exception: if you were given "1410 Probation" and that's usually given to people convicted of Class 4 PCS or Class 4 Prostitution.) Unless you fall into this exception, your only option is to seek a Governor's pardon.

WHAT ARE MY CHANCES OF RECEVING A GOVERNOR'S PARDON?
Your chances of a pardon are as good as the petition you submit: There is no guarantee that your pardon will be granted because the final decision is left up to one person: the Governor. If a pardon is your only option, then you should petition for one; otherwise, the felony conviction is on your record forever. Your chances are as good as your case. If you made one mistake many years ago and since then you haven't been in trouble, you have gotten a job and have raised a family, then your chances are better than the person who has been arrested several times since the conviction, has no job experience and no education. The better you can present yourself and your case to the Illinois Prisoner Review Board and the Governor, the better your chance of receiving the pardon. You don't get unless you ask and you have nothing to lose for asking, so ask for that pardon!

HOW LONG DO I HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE GOVERNOR TO DECIDE?
No news is good news. If you have not received a response, this means your pardon is sitting on the Governor's desk waiting for a decision to be made. Ex-Governor Blagojevich left approximately 2600+ on Governor Quinn's desk. Many people are just like you: waiting for an answer. Until a decision has been made, you cannot even re-petition. The only thing you can do is continue to wait. The Governor has no statute of limitations on how long he can "sit" on the petitions before making a decision. Do not fret; you do not know how many of those petitions are really worthy of a pardon, how many were submitted individually or through an attorney and what type of clemency was requested.

Click here for more information about Expungement.