“Clemency” (*** out of four) was a strong and powerful melodrama about a prison-warden (Alfre Woodward) whose years of being involved in the system and watching executions are starting to take a toll on her mental and physical health as her relationship with her husband (Wendell Pierce) begins to further deteriorate and another inmate (Aldis Hodge) is facing pending execution with intense media scrutiny. An absorbing look at the psychological toll of one’s job in the criminal justice system and enhanced by first-rate performances, especially from Woodward and also Richard Schiff as Hodge’s attorney. Never exactly peaks dramatically but features many fierce and effective moments.