# Correctional Services (GCS)

## Title 7. Parole, Release on Mandatory Supervision, and Executive Clemency

### Subtitle 6. Commutation of Sentence; Pardon

#### Section 7-601

(a) On giving the notice required by the Maryland Constitution, the Governor may:

  (1) change a sentence of death into a sentence of life without the possibility of parole;

  (2) pardon an individual convicted of a crime subject to any conditions the Governor requires; or

  (3) remit any part of a sentence of imprisonment subject to any conditions the Governor requires, without the remission operating as a full pardon.

(b)

  (1) A pardon or commutation of sentence shall be evidenced by a written executive order signed by the Governor under the great seal.

  (2) An order granting a pardon or conditional pardon shall clearly indicate on its face whether it is a partial or full pardon.

(c) There is a presumption that the grantee of a pardon was lawfully and properly convicted of a crime against the State unless the order granting the pardon states that the grantee has been shown conclusively to have been convicted in error.

#### Section 7-602

(a) Unless the order granting a pardon provides otherwise, the Governor is the sole judge of whether a condition of a conditional pardon has been violated.

(b) A determination by the Governor that a condition of a conditional pardon has been violated by the grantee is final and not subject to review by any court of the State.

#### Section 7-603

Unless the Governor orders otherwise, if the Governor revokes a conditional pardon for a breach of any of its conditions, the individual released on the conditional pardon:

(1) shall serve the unserved portion of the sentence originally imposed; and

(2) may not be granted credit for serving any portion of the original sentence during the time that the individual was released under the conditional pardon.

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Md. Code Ann., Corr. Servs. (as displayed at mgaleg.maryland.gov, October 16, 2026)