Oregon Court of Appeals upholds Gov. Kate Brown's prison commutations in 2020, 2021
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday that Gov. Kate Brown was within her authority to grant clemency in 2020 and 2021 to around 1,000 people convicted of crimes.
The governor’s use of her powers to shorten prison sentences drew condemnation from two district attorneys, Linn County’s Doug Marteeny and Lane County’s Patricia Perlow. The pair of district attorneys and family members of crime victims sued the governor and other state officials to stop the clemency actions.
The district attorneys took particular issue with Brown’s decision to allow 73 people convicted of crimes such as murder, assault, rape and manslaughter while they were younger than 18 to apply for early release.
The legal action alleged Brown granted clemency to people who had not sought early release through the standard legal process. The majority of the people receiving clemency were either medically at risk during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic or had helped with wildfire fighting efforts during the historic Labor Day fires of 2020.