Louisiana Pardon Board denies several clemency requests and forwards commutation recommendations for a handful of long-serving inmates

The Louisiana Pardon Board met May 5, 2025 and heard requests for commutation, clemency and pardon at several correctional locations, including River Oaks Nursing Home, David Wade Correctional Center, Elaine Hunt Correctional Center and the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola. The board denied several applications after hearing victims' families and law-enforcement opposition, and it recommended commutations in other cases, sending those recommendations to the governor for a final decision.

Board members led proceedings at multiple remote locations and allowed public comment before taking formal votes. Several high-profile requests were denied after direct victim statements and law-enforcement opposition, while at least three applicants'whose records reflected long stretches without infractions and extensive program participation'received unanimous board recommendations for commutation with immediate parole eligibility.

Most prominent among the board's actions, the panel voted to recommend commuting the sentences of three long-serving inmates to 99 years with immediate parole eligibility. The board also unanimously approved a separate commutation recommendation that would reduce another inmate's long sentence to a 50-year term (to align time served with an administratively-determined release), subject to gubernatorial approval. In contrast, applications from several others drew sustained victim opposition and law-enforcement objections and were denied.

Board members said they weighed inmate rehabilitation, disciplinary records, medical and reentry plans, and the extent of victim and law-enforcement opposition. One board member summarized the outcome for an applicant denied that day: "Your application has been denied," a procedural declaration the board repeated for multiple cases where the opposition was strong. For the commutation recommendations, board members cited lengthy, rule-compliant records, vocational and faith-based programming completion, trustee status and explicit reentry supports as central to their votes.

Among cases the board addressed: applicants denied included (by the names used in the hearing) Jim Young (medical furlough resident at River Oaks), Carter Brown (David Wade Correctional Center), Corey Leoni (Desoto Parish case), and Alonzo Taylor (an earlier armed-robbery matter). The board recorded strong victim opposition in several of those matters. The board recommended commutation to 99 years with immediate parole eligibility in the cases of Donald Ray Freeman (Elaine Hunt), Dwayne Hill (Angola), and Kennedy Thompson (Angola), each cited by panel members for long clean records in custody, participation in programming, and concrete residence/employment plans on release. The board recommended a separate commutation to a 50-year effective term for another applicant whose time served combined with supervised-release history would complete a 50-year term if the governor approves.

Procedurally, the board sometimes went into executive session to discuss confidential issues, then returned to open session and recorded votes. A senior board member explained that recommendations are forwarded to the governor, who makes the final determination on commutations and pardons. For individuals denied today the board recorded the grounds cited on the record: extensive violent criminal histories in some cases, ongoing law-enforcement opposition, and direct victim or family testimony describing persistent harm.

Next steps: gubernatorial review is required for any commutation or pardon recommendation to take effect. For applicants denied at this meeting the board recorded when they may reapply or otherwise seek relief under board rules.

(Reporting note: quotes and attributions in this article correspond to speakers who appeared in the board's recorded hearing and are drawn from the hearing transcript.)