The governor’s constitutional pardon power is subject to regulation relative to “the manner of applying.”  The parole board must be consulted, but its advice is not binding.  Eligibility begins three years after discharge, and there is no provision for a hearing.  Pardon relieves all legal disabilities, and a pardoned conviction may not be used to enhance the penalty in a subsequent case, but it does not expunge.  Pardons have been infrequent in recent years, but in response to a dramatic increase in applications and calls in the press for the governor to deal with a large backlog, the current governor Mike Parson has begun granting pardons on a regular basis.