How long should a person wait before filing for a commutation?
At the federal level, there is no waiting period for those filing for a commutation—a person incarcerated in federal prison can apply as soon as (1) they have exhausted all their legal remedies (i.e., their direct appeal, filing for and being denied certiorari by the Supreme Court, exhausting all their habeas remedies), (2) they have no other motions, appeals, or habeas petitions currently pending in court, and (3) they are incarcerated. These basic requirements are also typically true at the state level, though some states may also require that a person serve a certain percentage of their sentence before they are eligible to apply (e.g., or half or two-thirds of the sentence). Depending on the type of crime and the length of the sentence, it is usually wise for a prisoner to serve a significant part of their sentence (i.e., 30-50% of their total time) before filing for a commutation. An important part of requesting a commutation includes admitting guilt for the offense and admitting t
