OHIO — Gov. Mike DeWine announced Thursday that 182 people have been pardoned in Ohio since the creation of the Ohio Governor's Expedited Pardon Project in 2019. 

Of the last 12 months alone, 74 people have been pardoned, according to DeWine. He signed two more pardons on Thursday. 

"Even for those who've learned from their mistakes and have gone on to live good lives, a criminal history shuts the door on certain career, education, and volunteer opportunities," said DeWine at a press conference at Cleveland State University. "Through the Ohio Governor's Expedited Pardon Project, we are helping to remove the obstacles for those who have become upstanding citizens."

The project was launched in an attempt to simplify the pardon application process for some rehabilitated Ohioans. It does this my eliminating administrative hurdles that tend to make the process more complex. It also provides one-on-one support from partnering law schools in Ohio. The project has a group of partners, including the Ohio's Governor's Office, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law Drug Enforcement and Policy center, the University of Akron School of Law, Cleveland State University College of Law, the University of Dayton School of Law, and the Ohio Justice & Policy Center in partnership with the University of Cincinnati College of Law. 

Since the project's inception in 2019, more than 540 applicants have met the program's criteria. More than 275 people are in different stages of the pardon process, DeWine said. 

Also on Thursday, President Joe Biden announced 39 people were receiving pardons and 1,499 commutations for their sentences. It was the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.

Of the 39 pardons, four were Ohio military veterans, according to a release from the White House. 

More information on Ohio's Expedited Pardon Project can be found here.