Parole and Clemency

Criminal Defense Lawyer Serving Military Members

If you are nearing eligibility for parole or clemency, it is important that you have a skilled attorney to represent your interests in preparing your petition and presenting your case to the Board.

For over two decades, Guy Womack has fought to represent the rights of all types of military personnel in court-martial proceedings throughout the U.S. and internationally. Through his extensive experience with the Uniform Code of Military Justice, courts-martial and courts-martial appeals, attorney Womack has built the knowledge and resources to effectively represent his clients’ interests and assist them in reaching the best possible outcomes for their particular cases.

Seeking Clemency or Parole in Military Proceedings

Clemency is an action that involves the mitigation, remission or suspension of part or the whole of an individual’s court-martial sentence. Either the court-martial convening authority or a Clemency and Parole Board may grant clemency following a careful review, but it is most often the board which will conduct a clemency review. Depending upon the severity of sentence imposed upon a court-martial conviction, clemency review may be automatic. An individual may also waive his or her right to clemency review.

Parole is the early release of a prisoner, based upon the promise of good behavior and reporting to a particular authority at set periods of time. Parole allows for the conditional release of a person who has been convicted of a military crime but is only granted after review by the Clemency and Parole Board of the individual’s particular military service.

In determining whether to grant clemency or parole, the Board will look to a number of particular factors:

• The nature of the crime
• The circumstances of the offense
• Effort at rehabilitation or education, post-conviction
• Recommendations of the military judge
• Psychiatric evaluations
• Restitution to the victim
• Statements by the victim
• The background of the offender, both as a civilian and in the military