ST. PAUL (AP) — The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Thursday that unanimous votes are required for the state Board of Pardons to grant clemency.

Justices overruled a lower court that had declared the 124-year-old standard to be unconstitutional. The order by Justice G. Barry Anderson means that the three board members all must agree to grant a pardon, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

Minnesota’s pardons process dates to an 1896 constitutional amendment that took sole authority away from the governor. The Legislature then passed a law requiring a unanimous decision by the board.

Amreya Shefa sued after she was denied a pardon in 2020 on a 2-1 vote. Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison voted for the pardon; Chief Justice Lorie Gildea voted no.

Walz joined with Shefa in arguing two votes should have been enough. A Ramsey County judge sided with them in July. She agreed the process was flawed but stopped short of saying Shefa deserved a pardon in the killing of her husband, whom she accused of repeated sexual abuse.