In April 2020, the Economy League issued a pathbreaking report, finding that pardons issued over a ten-year period (2008-2018) had contributed $16.5 million to Pennsylvania’s economy, and urged the Board of Pardons to increase the number of pardon applicants, the percentage of applications granted, and the speed in which pardons are granted or denied. Public officials and civic leaders praised the report, but cautioned that there needed to be “continued oversight for public safety concerns.”
Examining the same decade of data and over 3,000 files in its August 2020 report, PLSE conclusively demonstrated that there is no reason for concern when granting pardons to people who have already completed their sentences and need pardons so they can get, for themselves and their families, the better jobs, housing, credit, and other opportunities of life for which they are qualified. PA Attorney General Josh Shapiro called the report “valuable and important.”
Click here to read the press release.
Click here to read the report written by PLSE’s co-founder Ryan Allen Hancock and Executive Director Tobey Oxholm.
Click here to read the Economy League’s report.
