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Butler County's great daily newspaper

25 years of state Board of Pardons votes available to the public

Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters.

HARRISBURG — Just five people are empowered to make critical recommendations to Pennsylvania’s governor about which incarcerated people deserve a second chance — and which don’t.

Despite this critical function, the state’s Board of Pardons operates with limited transparency. That’s why Spotlight PA is giving the public easy access to 25 years’ worth of information about how the panel votes on commutation requests.

The news organization recently examined the case of Gail Stallworth, whose application for commutation of her life sentence initially received the board’s full support before an unprecedented revote doomed her chance at freedom.

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