# 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.

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