Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 22 - CORRECTIONS, CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
Part V - Board of Pardons
Chapter 2 - Clemency
Section V-213 - Capital Cases

A. The board will consider recommending to the governor a stay of execution of death sentence upon receipt of a written application in behalf of a condemned felon. Any such application shall contain the following information:

B. The written application must be delivered to the board office, Post Office Box 94304, Baton Rouge, LA 70804 not later than the twenty-first calendar day before the execution is scheduled. If the twenty-first calendar day before the execution is scheduled falls on a weekend or state observed holiday, the application shall be delivered not later than the next business day. The chairman may extend this timeframe for acceptance of the written application at his or her discretion, based on good and adequate cause. Otherwise, the applicant's recourse will be directly to the governor.

C. All supplemental information, including but not limited to amendments, addenda, supplements, or exhibits, must be submitted in writing and delivered to the board office, Post Office Box 94304, Baton Rouge, LA 70804 not later than the fifteenth calendar day before the execution is scheduled. If the fifteenth calendar day before the execution is scheduled falls on a weekend or state observed holiday, all additional information including but not limited to amendments, addenda, supplements, or exhibits shall be delivered not later than the next business day. The chairman may extend this timeframe for acceptance of supplemental information at his or her discretion, based on good and adequate cause.

D. Any information filed with the application, including but not limited to amendments, addenda, supplements, or exhibits, which require reproduction facilities, equipment, or technology not operated by the board, must be provided by the applicant in an amount sufficient to allow review by all members of the board. An amount sufficient shall mean not less than ten and not more than twenty copies of the duplicate item.

E. A convicted person seeking a board recommendation to the governor of a reprieve or stay of execution may request an interview with a member of the board. Such request shall be included in the written application or any supplement filed therewith.

F. Upon receipt of a request for interview, the chairman shall designate at least one member of the board to conduct the requested interview. Such interview shall occur at the confining unit of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Attendance at such interviews shall be limited to the convicted person and their counsel of record, the designated board member(s), and institutional staff. The board may consider statements by the offender made at such interviews when considering the offender's application for reprieve or stay of execution.

G. The board shall consider and decide applications for stay or reprieve from execution. Upon review, a majority of the board, in written and signed form may:

H. When the board sets a hearing pursuant to Subsection G.3 of this Section, it shall notify the trial officials of the parish of conviction and the attorney general of the state of Louisiana and allow any such official(s), or the designated representatives thereof, the opportunity to attend the hearing and/or to present any relevant information. Prior to the hearing date, the chairman may convene a conference meeting with attorneys for the state and the convicted person to discuss and resolve any hearing preparation issues (i.e., the issues to be heard and considered by the board, list witnesses and exhibits from both sides and any other pertinent details). No testimony from witnesses will be taken. The purpose of the conference is to improve the quality of the hearing with thorough preparation.

I. At the time of notifying the trial officials, the board shall also notify any representative of the family of the victim (who has previously requested to be notified) of the receipt of the application, the setting of a hearing, and of said representative or family member's rights to provide any written comments or to attend the hearing.

J. All hearings conducted by the board under this section shall be in open session pursuant to requirements of the Louisiana Open Meetings Act. For the purpose of discussing matters which are deemed confidential by statute, or where otherwise authorized by the provisions of the Louisiana Open Meetings Act, the proceedings may be conducted in executive session closed to members of the general public, for that limited purpose. Only those persons whose privacy interests and right to confidentiality may be abridged by discussion involving disclosure of confidential information may be allowed to meet with members of the board in their executive session to discuss that information. No decision, vote, or final action by the board shall be made during a closed meeting; the board's decision, vote, or final action shall be made and announced in an open meeting. The hearing may be recessed prior to its completion and reconvened pursuant to the directions of the board.

K. Advocates for and against the death penalty, generally, and members of the general public may present written information for the board's consideration at its central office headquarters at any reasonable time.

L. After the conclusion of the hearing, the board shall render its decision, reached by majority vote, within a reasonable time, which decision shall be either to:

M. Each of the provisions of this policy are subject to waiver by the board when it finds that there exists good and adequate cause to suspend said provisions and adopt a different procedure which it finds to be better suited to the exigencies of the individual case before it.

N. Successive or repetitious reprieve applications submitted in behalf of the same condemned felon may be summarily denied by the board without meeting.

O. Time Limits. At the clemency hearing for capital punishment cases, the offender's clemency counsel and the attorneys for the state may make an oral presentation, each not to exceed 15 minutes collectively. Representatives of the victim's family may make oral statements not to exceed an additional five minutes collectively. The chairman may extend these time frames at his or her discretion.