The office is headed by the pardon attorney, with the current incumbent being Elizabeth G. Oyer, appointed by President Joe Biden in 2022.
All requests for executive clemency for federal offenses are directed to the Office of the Pardon Attorney for investigation and review.
[5] When the president proposes to exercise his or her executive clemency, the case is directed to the Office of the Pardon Attorney for review.
This means that the individuals conducted themselves as responsible and knowledgeable people who are aware of their crime and are ready to return to normal society.
[6] A very recent example of this would be when President Trump commuted 63-year-old Alice Marie Johnson's sentence after the case was brought up by celebrity Kim Kardashian.
The White House described their reasoning for the pardon by stating "while this administration will always be very tough on crime, it believes that those who have paid their debt to society and worked hard to better themselves while in prison deserve a second chance".
Though pardons for this type of relief are minimal and very rare, they will not be put at a higher priority over an otherwise deserving person who has a desire for forgiveness.
Lastly, referrals and recommendations from people in powerful positions like politicians, attorneys, judges, and even victims are looked over carefully to decide if an individual is worthy of a pardon.
[11] This is due to the limited resources and personnel at the Department of Justice, and cases involving living persons take precedence over those who are deceased.
The office receives and reviews clemency correspondences,[2] and investigates applications along with the files sent with them to make more valid the petitioner's plea for pardoning.
Unlike previous presidents, Trump has granted clemency to "well-connected offenders who had not filed petitions with the pardon office or did not meet its requirements.