The New International Encyclopædia/Reprieve

REPRIEVE (doublet of reprove, from OF. reprover, reprouver, Fr. réprouver, to reprove, reject, from Lat. reprobare, to condemn, reject, from re-, back again, anew + probare, to test, prove, from probus, good). The temporary suspension of a sentence for a crime, granted by the pardoning power, which is usually the chief magistrate of a State or nation. The term is most commonly employed to denote a stay of execution of a person convicted of a capital crime. Reprieves are usually granted in order to allow an investigation into the legality of the conviction, or into alleged ‘newly discovered evidence’ in favor of the condemned person. They are also granted in case of pregnancy of a woman condemned to death, in cases of alleged insanity after condemnation to death, and often pending an investigation of facts urged in an application for a pardon. See Pardon.