Press Release Summary: Hearing about pardons is often interesting, as it raises the issue of whether or not the person actually committed the crime.
Press Release Body: The person wrongly convicted of a crime would want a pardon to clear their name. Interesting statement, but often untrue. Many of those who have been wrongly convicted would prefer to wait to have their sentences overturned. They do not want the stigma of having people think they did the crime and are being pardoned for it.
During the past two decades there have been some really highly placed people who got handed a pardon. The name Richard Nixon comes to mind. To this day many people still debate his guilt or innocence. It seems fewer pardons are being handed out in the 21st century.
Despite the general populace thinking pardons are easy to get, they are not. For those looking for a federal pardon, there is often a five-year waiting period after the initial conviction. The wait is often that long because the Justice Department gets, on average, about 600 pardon petitions every year. Only about 10% of those are actually granted.
Usually a pardon is only considered for people who have finished their sentences and have shown they have the ability to live responsible lives when released. A pardon is not clemency. A pardon forgives the crime and the penalty that came with it. Clemency reduces the penalty but does not forgive the crime.
In most cases, the President of the United States approves federal pardons. However, state governors or special pardon boards may grant pardons under state law. They're not easy to get despite their overuse during some terms of office. E.g. President George H W Bush's pardon for six Regan officials over the flap labeled Iran-Contra.
The US President doesn't just hand out pardons. His powers have been defined by the Supreme Court as also including the ability to hand out respites, remissions of fines, amnesty, commutation of a sentence, conditional commutation of a sentence and conditional pardons.
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2012
