The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Q&A on the News
Q: Can the next president reverse a president commuting a sentence? — Betty Stevens, Monroe
A: In general, once a presidential clemency has been delivered and accepted, it can’t be revoked. Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states, “The President ... shall have the power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.”
In 1866, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that power conferred to the president “is unlimited, with the exception [impeachment] stated.”
According to the Department of Justice’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, a presidential commutation reduces the sentence that is being served and may include a release of fines or restitutions imposed as part of the sentence.
In the past, presidents have tinkered with previously issued commutations, but the modifications have leaned toward more leniency, not less.
“I can think of examples of where conditions were changed, but they’re always toward leniency,” Rock Valley College professor and clemency expert P.S. Ruckman Jr. told U.S. News and World Report in a January article.
“If the commutation was delivered and somehow there was an attempt to extend the punishment after the [date it specifies], I can think of no example of that happening — that would be bizarro-land,” Ruckman said in the article.