Post-Conviction Justice
Learn about how we strive to ensure justice after a conviction, in partnership with our courts and state attorney general’s office, by helping seal records of those who qualify, reviewing past sentences to make sure they are just and reviewing claims of innocence to determine whether people were wrongfully convicted.
Options for relief after you have been sentenced for a crime:
We can help seal your criminal record.
In 2019, in partnership with the Washington County Attorney’s Office, we launched HelpSealMyRecord.org, an online resource for community members to apply to have their convictions sealed, if eligible under state law, once they have completed their sentence. By proactively helping people seal their criminal records at no cost to them, we are alleviating collateral consequences that serve as barriers to jobs, housing, education and more.
You may seek a state pardon or commutation of your sentence.
The state offers people who have been convicted of a crime in Minnesota the opportunity to receive a pardon of their conviction or a commutation of their sentence. People with convictions may apply to the Minnesota Board of Pardons. The County Attorney’s Office will be consulted and has the option to support, oppose, or take no position on the application. The ultimate decision is made by the Minnesota Board of Pardons.
County Attorneys may now request sentence adjustments.
In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law allowing prosecutors to initiate sentence adjustments by looking back at past cases from their county and asking a court to shorten the sentence. We are working to identify cases in which the sentence was unfairly harsh, no longer serves the interests of justice, and/or the person no longer poses a serious risk to public safety.
Learn more about sentence adjustments in Ramsey County
You may request to have your conviction reviewed - if you were wrongly convicted.
We are committed to identifying and reviewing criminal convictions with a strong indication that a person may be innocent of the crime for which they were convicted. We refer all such cases to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office Conviction Review Unit for review.
You may request a review if you were convicted of felony murder but didn’t kill anyone.
In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature passed a law that allows people who were convicted of felony murder-aiding and abetting, but did not kill anyone, to petition to have their conviction vacated in certain circumstances. The Minnesota Department of Corrections notified all incarcerated people who may be eligible of their right to file a preliminary application for relief.
Other efforts to enhance the quality of justice:
We consider the collateral consequences of justice involvement.
Attorneys in our office, together with our advisory attorney, review and carefully consider the collateral impacts a conviction may have on a person’s ability to maintain housing, employment, occupational licensing, or lawful immigration status. We seek to mitigate collateral consequences, when appropriate, as we further resolutions that are fair, just, and protect public safety.
We are conducting an independent review of cases involving our past medical examiner.
We are partnering with Prosecutors’ Center for Excellence to conduct an independent, comprehensive review of Ramsey County cases involving the medical testimony of a former medical examiner, Dr. Michael McGee, after a federal court judge found, in 2021, that his testimony in a high-profile case was ‘unreliable, misleading and inaccurate.’
Learn more about our medical examiner case review