More than 200 people have applied for clemency through Pennsylvania’s new online portal
More than 240 people have submitted applications to have their criminal records cleared since Pennsylvania launched an online portal last June, commonwealth officials announced Tuesday.
The new online applications, which are submitted to the state’s Board of Pardons, makes Pennsylvania one of the first states to offer a digital option. It was developed at the direction of Lt. Gov. Austin Davis and in partnership with the Commonwealth Office of Digital Experience Pennsylvania, or CODE PA, which Gov. Josh Shapiro created by executive order in 2023 to modernize state services.
Along with an online portal, the state board also now for the first time offers a clemency application in Spanish. The two new improvements follow the “Clean Slate” legislation Shapiro signed in 2023, which included language proposed by Davis to streamline the process for pardoned Pennsylvanians to clear their criminal records.
The Shapiro-Davis Administration has also spent $355,000 to establish a dedicated clemency unit within the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to address a backlog of applications for pardons and commutations.
“The online application is a significant milestone for CODE PA and the Board of Pardons as we work together to modernize the office and make the process more accessible, streamlined, and empathetic,” Bry Pardoe, executive director of CODE PA, said last June after the online portal was announced. “The goal of every CODE PA project is to make getting what you need from the Commonwealth faster and easier, and we’re proud to support the Board of Pardons in helping more people pursue this potentially life-changing second chance opportunity.”
