U.S. Department of Justice

08/26/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/26/2024 12:28

The Office of the Pardon Attorney Releases Spanish Language Commutation Application

The Office of the Pardon Attorney (Pardon) released a Spanish-language version of its application for commutation of sentence. The Spanish-language application can be used to request that the President commute the sentence of an individual who is incarcerated. This application follows the launches of the improved pardon application in June 2024, and the English-language commutation application in November 2023.

In 2023 and 2024, Pardon revised all its clemency forms to make them more accessible and user-friendly. The revisions have been part of a department-wide effort to expand access to justice by simplifying public-facing forms and documents, consistent with the recommendations described in the 2022 and 2023 Legal Aid Interagency Roundtable Reports.

"Through collaboration with the Office for Access to Justice, regular community outreach and education, and the hard work of our team, we have been able to overhaul our entire platform of clemency applications," said Pardon Attorney Elizabeth Oyer. "The Spanish-language application will allow a large number of people within the Federal Bureau of Prisons to better access the clemency process going forward. It is a key step in our efforts to make clemency more transparent and to meet our obligation to increase language access for our applicants."

Pardon is also working with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP) to make the Spanish-language commutation form available to Spanish speakers within FBOP facilities.

To learn more about the work and outreach of the Office of the Pardon Attorney, visit Office of the Pardon Attorney | Office of the Pardon Attorney (justice.gov).