Second Chance Justice on CLEMENCY
as excerpted from The Time Has Come, SCJ’s Report to Gov. Healey, submitted in April 2026
The 2022 commutations inspired hope and demonstrated the power of organizing. In 2023, we were encouraged and grateful when Governor Healey took unprecedented action in her first year in office by announcing 11 pardons and overhauling and modernizing the Clemency Guidelines. The revised guidelines reflect enlightened, evidence-based principles, incorporate brain science, and establish clear time standards.
In some ways the system is working as it should – the Advisory Board of Pardons (ABP) has held many more hearings since 2023 and has recommended four commutations. However, changing systems and reversing decades-old trends takes time and resources and we are concerned by the commutation petitions that received positive recommendations from the ABP, but have not been acted on by the Governor. Under Governor Healey’s clemency guidelines, a petitioner can assume that their petition has been denied if the Governor does not take action within one year of the positive recommendation by the ABP or submission of additional information to the Governor. We are concerned that this delay is causing a loss of hope, not only for these petitioners but to others with potentially meritorious cases. In our experience, success stories inspire hope. When the system is functioning well, incarcerated people see the value of self development and self improvement, people file petitions, and lawyers are motivated to take cases. Inaction dampens hope; potential petitioners may hesitate to file and lawyers may be more reluctant to take cases.
Second Chance Justice on REENTRY
as excerpted from The Time Has Come, SCJ’s Report to Gov. Healey, submitted in April 2026
We have found there are many resources in the Commonwealth for reentry, but there isn't always a clear way of establishing where people should go upon release: i.e., where to access services and even more significantly for some, where to live. A coordinated effort to ensure that people have the skills and knowledge necessary to holistically reintegrate into society is lacking. We have learned that for many newly released individuals, there is a culture shock when they have to navigate complex systems in our society for which they are unprepared. For folks with supportive families, they have a higher success rate. For those who don't have a network, their success rate is contingent on whether they have a mentor or other supports to assist them in the process of reassimilating to society.