Gov. Jim Doyle granted over 85 criminal pardons this year since announcing he would not seek re-election, according to records released by the Associated Press Wednesday.

That number and the 213 total pardons Doyle has granted throughout his time as governor have been highly criticized by some, including former chairman of the Criminal Justice and Homeland Security Committee Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford.

“It’s outrageous. It’s just another example of the Doyle administration’s penchant for coddling criminals and doing everything they can to put more criminals back on the streets,” Suder said.

However, according to University of Wisconsin Law Professor Howard Schweber, Doyle’s use of pardons likely has more to do with the important role they can play in dealing with over-crowding in prisons, rather than leniency on crime.

In Schweber’s view, many elected officials are hesitant to use pardons for fear of being called “soft-on-crime.”

Suder said to be granted a pardon, applicants present their case to the Pardon Advisory Board, which can then recommend the applicant for pardon to the governor, who makes the final decision.

As governor, Doyle has required convicts to wait at least five years from their conviction to file a request, unless granted a waiver.

While a pardon does not overturn a conviction, it does allow a convict to gain back some of the rights of regular citizens, such as the right to own a firearm.

Suder called Doyle’s use of pardons too abundant, citing former Gov. Tommy Thompson as an example of restraint in granting pardons, who granted only 62 pardons from 1994 to 1999.

“[The Doyle administration] seems to always stand on the side of criminals,” Suder said. “He not only likes to let them out of prison early, now he obviously hands out pardons as if they were candy.”

However, according to UW-Madison professor of political science Barry Burden, current high incarceration rates as well as political motivations may account for this discrepancy.

Doyle is always leaving the world of politics and does not seem to be seeking political points for the future, Burden said.

“Doyle is done with elected public office,” Burden wrote in an e-mail. “This is in contrast to Thompson, who issued fewer pardons as he left office and continues to seek the political spotlight.”

Though policy coordinator for the Wisconsin Coalition against Domestic Violence Tony Gibart said that he could not speak to Doyle’s pardons in particular, he said pardons can be important for the justice process.

Citizens generally see the value in the governor reassessing cases on an individual basis when there are mitigating factors, Gibart said.

According to Schweber, the fact Doyle is not seeking re-election may have given him the freedom to issue more pardons.

“Doyle, a long-time prosecutor, is fully aware of how absurd many of the sentences being served by Wisconsin inmates really are, but until now he has probably felt unable to make any moves that might weaken him politically,” Schweber wrote in an e-mail to The Badger Herald.

Doyle’s office could not be reached for comment.