September 27, 2001, Laura K. Saegert, Appraisal Archivist
Agency contact
This agency contact information was current at the time of the report but may have changed in the interim. Please call (512-463-5455) for current contact information of the agency's records manager or records liaison for these records.
Denise Williams, Hearings Section
Records Series Review
Series Title: Full pardon files
Obsolete record series?
Replaced by: No
Ongoing record series?
Annual accumulation: unknown
Agency holdings:
1992-ongoing, 17 + cubic ft. at the State Records Center, unknown amount
at the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
Description:
This series consists of full pardon files from the Texas Board of Pardons
and Paroles, dating 1992-ongoing. Records in each of the files include
a log, giving dates the Board members voted on the full pardon application
and whether they voted for or against the application; a letter from
the governor authorizing the full pardon; one or two official copies
of the pardon proclamation (signed by the governor and affixed with
a gold seal of office); and a packet with attachments sent to the governor
for review. Items in the packet include a cover sheet giving the name
and address of the subject, sentence, plea, recommendation of the board,
date of conviction, date of sentence, court of conviction, offense charged,
and arrests since the conviction. Attachments include:
- a certified copy of the judgement, sentence, and order of dismissal;
- signature page of Board members (those recommending the pardon
and those voting against it);
- criminal history reports from the Texas Department of Public
Safety or possibly from a national crime database;
- a letter to the Sheriff (from county of conviction) attesting
to whether or not the full sentence was served;
- an admission summary;
- arrest record (gives county, date and location of arrest, number,
name of offender, charge, sentence, and release date);
- letters of recommendation to the Board to approve the pardon
(could be from employers, clergy, friends, neighbors, physicians,
psychiatrists, etc.);
- statement from the offender as to why he wants a full pardon;
- the pardon application;
- letters to the board re: the pardon process (could be from the
offender, attorneys, local officials, etc.);
- an affidavit from the offender re: his crime and acknowledging
his rehabilitation;
- certificates of parole (from those offenders who served on parole
for their sentence or as part of their sentence);
- a case summary from the Board, giving the name and Texas Department
of Criminal Justice # of the offender; data on previous probation
(when applicable); summary of the crime; drug/alcohol problems;
social history (place of birth, true name, parents names, residential
area, age offender left home and the reason for leaving, delinquent
family members (such as those in prison), marital status, education,
vocational training, employment, military data); and a physical/mental
history (such as physical problems, any commitments to mental or
rehabilitation facilities).
The Parole Division of the Dept. of Criminal Justice also has full
pardon files, which do not have an archival code. Dates and contents
of these files are unknown. We are not reviewing those files at this
time.
Purpose:
Full pardon files document the issuance of a full pardon to an offender,
providing the supporting documentation used in the pardon decision process.
A full pardon restores certain citizenship rights forfeited by law
as the result of a criminal conviction, such as the right to vote, the
right to serve on a jury, and the right to hold public office. Of note,
in many states--including Texas--voting rights are automatically restored
when one discharges a felony sentence, even without a pardon. Pursuant
to the current Texas Election Code, voting rights are restored to Texas
residents after discharging a felony sentence, provided that they are
otherwise eligible to register.
A full pardon will remove barriers to some, but not all, types of employment
and professional licensing. However, licenses are granted at the discretion
of the state licensing boards of each profession, and it is advisable
to contact such boards directly to learn whether a pardon is necessary
or sufficient to restore licensing eligibility in a particular field.
A pardon will not restore eligibility to become a licensed peace officer
in Texas.
A full pardon does not have the legal effect of expunging a criminal
record or of exonerating an individual of his crime, unless the pardon
is based on grounds of innocence. Innocence pardons are extremely unusual
and are usually considered only on unanimous recommendation of an applicant's
three trial officials (sentencing judge, district attorney, sheriff).
Agency program:
The executive clemency process--pardoning convicts, giving executive
paroles, granting furloughs, commuting sentences, etc., was a function
given to the Governor under the Constitution of the State of Texas,
Article IV, Section 11. The Texas Board of Pardon Advisors (the predecessor
of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles) was created in 1893 (Senate
Bill 19, 23rd Legislature, Regular Session) to assist the Governor with
these executive clemency functions. The Board of Pardon Advisors was
composed of two individuals, chosen by the Governor, who assisted him/her
by reviewing applications for executive clemency and making recommendations
to the Governor. The Board was able to review more applications and
examine them more thoroughly than the Governor, resulting in more pardons
granted.
Over the years, several pieces of legislation were enacted that reduced
the exclusive power of the Governor in this process. In 1905, the 29th
Legislature (Senate Bill 11, Regular Session) allowed the State Penitentiary
Board to begin granting paroles to meritorious convicts, subject to
certain restrictions. The Board of Pardon Advisors worked with the Penitentiary
Board to write rules for the regulation of this new law. In 1911, Senate
Bill 249 (32nd Legislature, Regular Session) allowed granting paroles
to meritorious convicts by the Board of Prison Commissioners (name change
from the State Penitentiary Board).
In 1929, the 41st Legislature, First Called Session, passed Senate
Bill 1, changing the name of the Board of Pardon Advisors to the Board
of Pardons and Paroles. The new Board was expanded to add another member--all
still appointed by the Governor. The Governor appointed a Chairman of
the Board. The Board designated a member to serve as the Supervisor
of Paroles, whose duties included compiling a list of all convicts eligible
for parole, studying prisoners being considered for parole, securing
employment (if possible) for parolees, and keeping a record of the parolees.
The Board also gathered information regarding the convicts cases, kept
pre-parole records, maintained a register of cases acted upon, and made
recommendations to the Governor regarding the disposition of clemency
applications. This law also detailed all aspects of the parole system,
including who could be paroled, reasons and methods for release, conditions
of parole, violations of parole, retaking parole violators, noting felonies
committed while on parole, discharge from parole, records kept, and
other items.
In 1935, the 44th Legislature placed restrictions on the governor's
pardoning power and changed the appointment of the Board of Pardons
and Paroles (Senate Joint Resolution 26, Regular Session). The Board
was still composed of three members, but only one member was appointed
by the Governor. One member was appointed by the Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court and the other by the presiding Justice of the Court of
Civil Appeals, all subject to confirmation by the Senate. The Governor
could grant pardons and reprieves, commute sentences, and remit fines
and forfeitures only with the written signed recommendation and advice
of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, except in cases of treason and
impeachment. For these latter cases, he was required to have the advice
and recommendation of the Legislature. The Governor could still grant
a reprieve in capital punishment cases, not to exceed thirty days, and
had the power to revoke paroles and conditional pardons.
In 1947, the Adult Probation and Parole Law was enacted by the 50th
Legislature, Regular Session, House Bill 120. This law authorized the
Board of Pardons and Paroles, with approval of the Governor, to release
any prisoners for parole or probation, with the exception of those under
a death sentence. This law replaced the former parole laws and became
the statute that governed parole actions. A Division of Parole Supervisors
was established in 1957, as part of the Board, to open up district offices
across the state to monitor parolees. The Board received further assistance
with its parole duties with the creation of the Texas Parole Commission,
created in 1975 by the 64th Legislature, Regular Session, Senate Bill
240. This Commission was composed of six parole commissioners with decision-making
authority in parole matters and was designated to assist the Board with
some parole functions.
In 1983, legislation was enacted (Senate Bill 396, 68th Legislature,
Regular Session) that again changed the structure of the Board of Pardons
and Paroles. The Board was increased to six members, appointed by the
Governor with the approval and consent of the Senate.
In 1989, the Board of Pardons and Paroles was placed under the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice (created by House Bill 2335, 71st Legislature,
to consolidate the various criminal justice functions in state government
into one agency) as a Division in that agency. The Board of Pardons
and Paroles Division was governed by a Board of Pardons and Paroles,
increased to an 18 member board. The Governor, with the advice and consent
of the Texas Senate, appoints the Board's 18 members. Members hold office
for six-year terms. To be eligible to serve, Board members must be representative
of the general public, be resident citizens of Texas, and have resided
in Texas for the two years preceding appointment. Six members of the
Board are designated by the Governor to serve as Policy Board members
for the duration of their terms. In addition to other Board duties,
Policy Board members adopt rules relating to board decision-making processes,
establish caseloads for Board members, develop and update parole guidelines
and policies, and carry out other functions. The Chairman of the Board,
who is designated by the Governor, is also presiding officer of the
Policy Board.
In 1997 the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles once again become a
separate agency (75th Legislature, House Bill 1386, Regular Session).
The primary role of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is the discretionary
release of eligible inmates sentenced to the Institutional Division
of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to a plan of parole supervision.
In addition, the Board is responsible for determining the conditions
of release, imposing any special conditions for individuals on parole
or individuals on mandatory supervision on a case by case basis, and
responding to violations of the conditions of release with sanctions
to include revocation and re-incarceration. On September 1, 1996, the
Board was given authority to review and rescind scheduled mandatory
supervision releases for inmates with offenses committed on or after
September 1, 1996.
Texas Administrative Code, Title 37, Part 5.
Arrangement:
The files are arranged by year, then alphabetically by last name.
Access constraints:
Yes. Much of the information in the pardon files is confidential.
Criminal history records are confidential (V.T.C.A., Government Code,
411, Subchapter F.) One section of this statute in particular concerns
criminal history record information found in the archives at the State
Library and access to that information by State Library employees -
"(c) Criminal history record information obtained by the commission
[TSLAC] under Subsection (B) [records in the archives of the State Library]
may not be released or disclosed to any person except on court order
or with the consent of the person who is the subject of the information"
(V.T.C.A., Government Code, 411.134). Criminal history reports from
the Department of Public Safety are confidential and are generally to
be destroyed after they are used for the purpose intended (such as for
a criminal history background check for employment). Agencies that have
the right to retain these, such as TDCJ, are to release them only to
the subject of the report or for specific purposes (such as to the Board
of Pardons and Paroles for parole/pardon requests). Criminal history
reports from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), a national
crime database operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are
governed by federal statues and are confidential (28 Code of Federal
Regulations, Chapter 1, Part 20 and 42 USC, §3789g).
Information on the arrest sheets and the first page of an offense report
is open except for the following (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Texas Public
Information Act, 552.108):
- Names of victims of sexual offenses (V.T.C.A., Government Code,
Texas Public Information Act, 552.101);
- Driver's license numbers (V.T.C.A., Government Code, Texas Public
Information Act, 552.130);
- Information that would interfere with law enforcement, such as
law enforcement methodology, strategies, techniques, sketches of
security measures, and cell phone numbers of officers (I have not
seen data of this nature in these files, likely it would not be
there).
In the V.T.C.A., Government Code, Corrections, 508.313, the following
items are confidential:
- "(a) All information obtained and maintained, including
a victim protest letter or other correspondence, a victim impact
statement, a list of inmates eligible for release on parole, and
an arrest record of an inmate, is confidential and privileged if
the information relates to: (1) an inmate of the institutional division
subject to release on parole, release to mandatory supervision,
or executive clemency."
- According to staff at the Board of Pardons and Paroles, other
items confidential under this statute include:
- substance abuse treatment information and records,
- results of urine analysis,
- the place and address of employers of the offenders,
- any data re: therapy visits,
- parolee's disciplinary status upon release,
- driver's license number,
- social security number,
- telephone number,
- correspondence with the victim,
- records of incarceration (according to TBPP staff, this includes
any records re: time in prison, such as items in the inmate's
file at TDCJ, to include disciplinary records, psychiatrists
reports, etc.)
- and designation codes on the minute's sheet (or log) (S,
F15 and F16) that identify offenders with conditions such as
substance abuse.
Use constraints:
If we maintain the files, the criminal history reports will remain closed.
Other confidential information will be redacted by an archivist prior
to allowing access. Redaction will be done on demand. If we find any
information found regarding law enforcement methodology, etc., the case
will be sent to the Attorney General for review.
Indexes or finding aids required for/or an aid to access? unknown
Problems:
Criminal history reports need to be removed. Much of the information
in the files needs to be redacted.
Known related records in other agencies:
The Criminal Justice Division in the Governor's office maintains pardon
files sent by the Board of Pardons and Paroles to the governor for his
review.
The Parole Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice maintains
similar files on parolees.
Previous destructions:
The Archives accessioned a group of records in 1963 (1963/181) that
included mostly routine administrative records of the Board of Pardons
and Paroles and some full pardon records dating 1951-1954. There is
a note from the guide survey archivist, Paul Beck, dated August 22,
1988, that he had searched everywhere for these records and could not
find them, so he presumed they were destroyed. Later in 1988, the State
Archivist, Chris LaPlante, signed a destruction request (dated September
1, 1988) for some Board of Pardons and Paroles administrative records
and added in pencil several record types to the request (not listed
on the records transmittal), including some full pardon records dating
1977-1978. The only box requested from the 1988 transmittal was board
minutes (AC 1989/45) and the accession log has the minutes listed as
being destroyed. On July 24, 2001, I checked our Minaret database and
could not locate any of these records (full pardon records or minutes).
Publications based on records:
None known.
Internet pages based on records:
Information about the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is at http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/bpp/index.htm.
Information about full pardons is at http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/bpp/exec_clem/exec_clem.html#WHAT%20IS%20A%20FULL%20PARDON.
The site does not contain a list of people pardoned.
Series data from agency schedule (based on 1999 schedule - The Board
does not yet have a separate schedule):
TDCJ - Parole Board
Title: Full pardons
Series item number: none
Agency item number: 13.00.00.001
Archival code: A
Retention: AC +10 (Confidential)
TDCJ - Parole Division
Title: Full pardons
Series item number: none
Agency item number: 13.00.00.001
Archival code: none
Retention: AC +10 (Confidential)
Archival holdings:
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Board of Pardon Advisors pardon
books, 1898-1930, 2.37 cubic ft.
The records in this accession consist of five Pardon Books from the
Board of Pardon Advisors (1898-1917, 1926-1930) and one Executive Office
Pardon Book, 1915-1921. The Board's Pardon Books are records that were
legislatively mandated to be maintained by the Board. The entries are
arranged alphabetically. They give the case number, the convict's name,
when sentenced, term of sentence, offense, county, date petition received,
action of the Board, and in the latter four volumes, action requested
(or taken) by the Governor. In most cases, action taken by the Board
is shown.
Texas Secretary of State, Executive clemency - pardon proclamations,
1846-1988, 14 cubic ft. (paper), 1.53 cubic ft. (microfilm)
These are pardon proclamations, dating 1848-1988. Proclamations usually
give some or all of the following types of information; the name of
the pardoned individual, when convicted, where, the court, the crime,
the punishment, length of sentence served, who recommends executive
clemency, any conditions on the pardon, date of pardon, and signature
of the governor and the clerk.
Texas Secretary of State, Executive clemency - Applications for
pardons, 1848-1918, 1932-1935 (bulk 1880-1900), 72.03 cubic ft.
This series contains records not only for applications for pardons but
also for other forms of executive clemency, including communtation of
sentence, citizenship restoration, or remission of fines and forfeitures.
All requests were organized as individual case files. Dates covered
are 1848-1918, 1932-1935. Types of records found in the applications
include correspondence, petitions, and court records such as indictments
and transcripts. Occasionally, there are actual proclamations from the
governor granting a pardon or restoring citizenship. The correspondence
and petitions asking for clemency usually came from the citizens of
the convict's home area and many times even the judge and jury that
sentenced the convict signed a petition. Some case files include certificates
of prison conduct which are the records of prison behavior used by the
governor to evaluate a clemency request. A certificate lists the name
of the convict, the crime, and the sentence being served and also provides
personal information such physical description, race, marital status,
education, and occupation.
Texas Secretary of State, Registers of applicants for pardons and
remissions of fines, 1887-1891, 1939, 0.54 cubic ft.
Registers listing applicants for pardons and remissions of fines, dating
1887-1891, 1939.
Texas, Office of the Governor, Criminal Justice Division, Pardon
files, 1987-1990, 0.5 cubic ft.
Records consist of the pardon files submitted to the governor from the
Board of Pardon and Paroles and maintained by the Office of the General
Counsel. People convicted of crimes who sought pardons and/or restoration
of their civil rights initiated such a request with the Board of Pardons
and Paroles. The Board examined each request and made a recommendation
to the governor. If the governor approved of the Boards' recommendation
for a pardon, he would then issue a pardon proclamation. Approved pardon
files include recommendation forms from the Board of Pardons and Paroles
which usually contain a synopsis of an applicant's arrest and imprisonment
record, a copy of the cover letter from the governor to the Board announcing
his decision, and copies of the governor's pardon proclamations. These
records date from 1987-1989. There is a separate file from 1990 of letters
from the governor to the Board rejecting pardon applications.
Texas Secretary of State, Pardon registers and reward proclamations,
1870-1938, 0.10 cubic ft.
Registers of pardons issued between January 24, 1870 through February
18, 1896. Earlier pardons include documentation and petitions, later
ones are recorded with extensive explanations. Materials dating to 1938
are the reward proclamations.
Texas Documents Collection holdings: None
Gaps:
We are appraising files for 1992-1993. Full pardon files from the Board
of Pardons and Paroles do not exist prior to that. We hold some similar
files from 1987-1990, but they are not the complete full pardon files.
Appraisal decision:
There are a lot of confidentiality problems with these files, which
is probably why we have not taken any before. According to our files,
we disposed of some in 1988. According to the Board's agency contact,
Denise Williams, there is a note on their copy of the retention schedule
from 1993 for this series that says "No "A" per Chris
LaPlante." We do not have a corresponding note here, likely because
it was a verbal decision and those were not always well documented.
I asked the agency why they had put an "A" on the next version
of the retention schedule. They said someone likely misread the note
or else they thought the Archives was the same thing as the State Records
Center, which is where the records are stored for 10 years after the
case is closed. It was not the intention of current staff at the agency
to have an archival code of "A" on the schedule for the full
pardon files.
There is some interesting information in the files, but much of it
is confidential. Items of the most value to patrons, in my opinion,
would be the original pardon proclamations, the letters of support,
the pardon application, the case summary, and the offender's statement
as why they wanted a full pardon. However, the pardon proclamations
are filmed and available on microfilm. Some letters of support are from
employers and doctors/psychiatrists, which according to the statutes,
are confidential or parts thereof are confidential. There are items
in the pardon application that would need to be redacted (driver's license
number, address and place of employment, possibly information relating
to treatment). The case summary has information that is confidential,
such as parole or probation data, information on delinquent family members
- this could include juvenile delinquents, and information in the physical/mental
history portion of the summary. According to staff in at the Board of
Pardons and Paroles (Public Information Section and the Hearings Section)
the privacy of the information declared confidential does not end with
death.
Carolyn asked if we could select files. Yes, we could go through the
files and select those based on certain felony convictions. Some files
I looked at concerned offenders who wrote hot checks and never served
any time, but were on probation for a set period of time; some had burglary
convictions, others were convicted on drug offenses, etc. Doing a sampling
of cases would make the statement we were keeping these files to document
a pre-determined set of criteria based on case selection. Who would
make that determination (us, TBPP, TDCJ?) and what would be that criteria
be? We would not be keeping the files to provide information about those
pardoned, but instead about the process. Which is fine, but we would
need to clarify the criteria for keeping these files. Reasons given
for requesting the pardon vary, as do the letters of support and the
nature of the crime. Most of the files I reviewed concerned pardon requests
dating 10 or more years after the offender's sentence was served.
I am not convinced (thought I possibly could be) that a sampling project
of the pardon files is warranted. These are files of offenders receiving
full pardons, not just anyone who was out on parole. Not everyone in
the full pardon files was even on parole at any time. I could see social
history uses down the line for the whole set (given as an example) -
to see the range of offenders getting pardons, but that would need to
be correlated with those who applied for pardons but did not receive
them. Denied pardon application files are still at the Board of Pardons
and Paroles.
Lastly, I talked to the agency about what would happen to the full
pardon files if the offender's criminal record was later expunged (receiving
a pardon of innocence). This happens very rarely, but I decided to check.
Would the files need to be destroyed, returned, or would there be any
effect at all? Ms. Williams checked with contacts throughout the Board
of Pardons and Paroles, especially with staff in the Executive Clemency
section. They said since the Board of Pardons and Parolees is not the
holder of the original record (criminal records, parolee records, etc.),
expungement of a criminal record would not affect their files. It would
be an issue to be addressed to the Parole Division at TDCJ. I checked
with the TDCJ Records Manager, Terry Wunderlich, and he referred me
to Troy Fox, Director of Parole Division's Review and Release Processing
Section. Mr. Fox said that when criminal records are expunged, the record
is removed from the active files (or the portion expunged) and stored
with other expunged records - the records are not destroyed, just removed.
He said if a full pardon file at the Archives needs to have data expunged,
they would contact us about the file. We would then send the file to
TDCJ who would remove what needs to be expunged, which often is not
the whole file, but maybe reference to a particular offense, as opposed
to a whole criminal record with multiple offenses. They would then send
back the record, with the expunged data deleted or removed (if a separate
sheet(s) of data).
I am appraising these records as non-archival. There are a number of
confidentiality issues, Chris has twice decided the full pardon records
were not archival (just poorly documented that), and the primary document
concerning the pardon is the pardon proclamation, which is available
in the Executive clemency records of the Secretary of State. Additionally,
the records are not archival because they do not reveal the formulation
of agency policy and procedures, but are rather the implementation of
agency policy and procedures. Also, while it would be nice for relatives
of offenders receiving full pardons to have access to some of this data
(letters of support, affidavit and statement by offender, pardon proclamation,
etc.), the bulk of the records (17 cubic ft. for 1992-1993) and the
marginal value of most information in the files makes these records
not archival.
The agency can remove the archival code of A from the schedule and
dispose of the files that have fulfilled their retention period.
Note: These records were appraised as not archival by the Archives
Appraisal staff in October 2001.
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