DATA ON GOV. JIM DOYLE'S PARDONS REMAINS OBSCURE

Records Policy Puts Governor'2 Leniency Out Of Public Eye

MADISON - Murderers, drug users and sex offenders can't undo their
crimes. But with a clean record and help from the governor, some such
offenders can get back their rights.

A Post-Crescent review found that since 1987, more than 300 people
have received pardons from Wisconsin's governor for crimes ranging
from stealing chickens to homicides.

With a pardon, people can get back the civil rights they lost as a
felon including the right to own firearms, the right to run for office
and the right to obtain certain professional licenses.

Sometimes the motivation for the request is basic.

"In some cases, people have turned their lives around and they want to
get a pardon," said Jessica Erickson, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jim
Doyle. "They want to be officially forgiven."

One of those pardoned was Ann Miller in March 2006. A rural Door
County resident who lives near Baileys Harbor, she was convicted in
1992 of possession of cocaine with intent to deliver.

After she was released from jail, she began covering her community as
a correspondent for the Door County Advocate, including Liberty Grove
Town Board meetings. She developed an interest in town government and
eventually, a resident asked her to consider running for a board vacancy.

"I said, 'Well, I can't,'" Miller said, before changing her
mind.

As part of Sunshine Week, a national effort to raise the awareness of
public access to information, The Post-Crescent scanned Miller's
pardon and others from the past 20 years and posted the documents
online in a searchable database.

After applying for a pardon and going through a lot of paperwork,
Miller was grilled by the state Pardon Advisory Board. Members asked
her a lot questions, including whether she still used drugs.

"It was like being a chicken breast, being flipped over on high
flame," she said.

Coming out of her hearing before the Pardon Advisory Board, Miller had
no idea what her chances were. But on March 2, 2006, Doyle issued
Miller an unconditional pardon.

According to Bill Lueders, president of the Wisconsin Freedom of
Information Council, pardons are the sort of records that should be
online.

"Obviously there is a public interest in knowing this," he
said.

In the past, discovering who has received a pardon hasn't been the
easiest task.

All kinds of information can be found on state Web sites, including
how many calories are in half a cup of pumpkin (25), how many people
are killed each year by lightning (93) and how many times a typical
female timber rattler will give birth to baby snakes (at least three).

But you won't find much information online on Wisconsinites who have
been pardoned.

That information is a public record and it is available for public
inspection. It's kept in a cardboard documents box in the 10th floor
office of the secretary of state's office in Madison along with a
hand-written index. Copies are available but by law, the agency
charges $2 for each one-page pardon document, about 10 times the cost
of copies in most other state agencies.

The pardon documents shed some light on Wisconsin's pardoning process.
A review by The Post-Crescent found:

# People have been pardoned for a wide range of offenses. Some
examples: prostitution, battery to a police officer, homicide, arson,
armed robbery and sexual intercourse with a child.

# Drug offenses represented the most common crime for which people
have been pardoned, followed by burglary and theft.

# On average, people received pardons about 20 years after their
crimes. The average conviction age of people pardoned: 24. The average
age of people pardoned: 44.

# Doyle issued his first pardon to a man convicted in 1957 of sexual
intercourse with a man. In the pardon, Doyle noted that this is no
longer a crime.

# In 2004, Doyle pardoned a man for stealing pigeons. About 50 years
had passed since the crime occurred.

Michael Hayes, a Milwaukee attorney, said putting the information
online is a "great idea."

"I get about one call a week, from individuals that want information
on how they can get a pardon," Hayes said.

Last year, Hayes filed an open records request to find out whether
anyone had received a pardon for a criminal drunken driving conviction
since 1995. He also sought information on how many people had received
pardons.

Hayes said that most people who contact him say a felony conviction is
preventing them from getting a job. "I basically tell them good luck,"
he said. "The odds of getting a pardon are pretty slim."

According to a March 3 tally of pardons that Doyle's office provided
Hayes, 88 people applied for pardons in 2006 and 12 of those people
received a pardon. In 2007, 86 people applied for pardons and 16
received a pardon.

Erickson said pardon applicants are screened and evaluated by a
seven-member Pardon Advisory Board appointed by the governor. That
board makes recommendations to the governor and he decides who will
receive a pardon.

She said per the advisory board's rules, people must meet three
requirements to be considered for a pardon: the applicant must be
convicted of a felony, must not be incarcerated and five years must
have passed since an applicant completed his or her sentence.

Applicants complete an application that includes supporting
documentation and they appear at a hearing before the board to answer
questions.

Erickson said the board evaluates applicants on a "case by case basis"
and takes into account factors like the seriousness and the nature of
the crime, whether there is a demonstrated need for executive
clemency, the length of time since the crime was committed, whether
there is opposition from a judge or district attorney, victim input
and community support.

"The granting of executive clemency is a responsibility that the
governor takes very seriously, and, typically he makes clemency
decisions about four times a year," Erickson said.

Miller's pardon in March 2006 cleared the way for her to send out a
campaign flyer in which she explained her past to Liberty Grove
residents and told them of her write-in candidacy to be a town supervisor.

"I made a mistake sixteen years ago, but have worked hard to correct
that and to contribute positively to the community," she wrote. "I
will appreciate your support."

On April 4, 2006, Miller received a second pardon of sorts. Residents
decided Miller's future was more important than her past and elected
her to their board. She has served as a supervisor since.

"I made it," she said.