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Created page with 'File:lighterstill.jpgright|frame A '''pardon''' is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. It is granted b...'
[[File:lighterstill.jpg]][[File:Pardon.jpg|right|frame]]
A '''pardon''' is the [[forgiveness]] of a [[Transgression|crime]] and the penalty associated with it. It is granted by a head of [[state]], such as a monarch or president, or by a competent church [[authority]]. ''Commutation'' is an associated term, [[meaning]] the lessening of the [[penalty]] of the crime without forgiving the crime itself. A ''reprieve'' is the temporary postponement of [[punishment]]. ''Clemency'' is a general term [[encompassing]] all of these. Today, pardons are granted in many countries when [[individuals]] have [[demonstrated]] that they have [[fulfilled]] their debt to [[society]], or are otherwise deserving (in the opinion of the pardoning official) of a pardon. Pardons are sometimes offered to [[persons]] who claim they have been wrongfully convicted. Some believe accepting such a pardon implicitly constitutes an admission of [[guilt]], so in some cases the offer is refused (cases of wrongful conviction are nowadays more often dealt with by appeal than by pardon).
''Clemency'' is often requested by foreign [[governments]] that do not [[practice]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment capital punishment] when one of their [[citizens]] has been sentenced to [[death]] by a foreign nation that does practice it.
==Related concepts==
These terms differ subtly from country-to-country, but generally:
: '''Amnesty''': '[[Memory|Forgetting]]' the crime, e.g. if a car thief witnesses a [[murder]], he will often be granted amnesty for his crime in order to allow him to testify against the murderer, or after a civil war a mass amnesty may be granted to absolve all participants of [[guilt]] and 'move on'. Weapon amnesties are often granted so that people can hand in weapons to the police without any [[legal]] [[Examination|questions]] being asked as to where they obtained them/why they had them/etc.
: '''Commutation''': Substituting the [[penalty]] for a crime with the penalty for another, whilst still remaining [[guilty]] of the [[original]] crime (e.g., in the USA, someone who is guilty of murder may have their sentence commuted to life imprisonment rather than [[death]])
: '''Remission''': Complete or partial cancellation of the penalty of a crime, whilst still being considered [[guilty]] of said crime (i.e., reduced penalty).
: '''Reprieve''': Temporary postponement of a punishment, usually so that the accused can mount an appeal (especially if he or she has been sentenced to [[death]])
: '''Clemency''': Catch-all term for all of the above, or just referring to amnesty and pardons.
==Controversy==
Among those who see some [[legitimate]] use for the [[power]] to pardon in some cases, there are those who see it as being susceptible to [[abuse]] if applied inconsistently, selectively, [[arbitrarily]], or without strict, [[publicly]] accessible guidelines. Others believe that the pardon power should be used frequently as a means of infusing [[mercy]] into the [[justice]] [[system]].
The principle of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Law Rule of Law] is [[intended]] to be a safeguard against such [[arbitrary]] [[governance]]. The 'rule of law', in its most basic form, is the principle that no one is above the law. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine Thomas Paine] stated in his pamphlet [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense_(pamphlet) Common Sense] (1776): "For as in [[absolute]] governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other."
Some [[critics]], such as ethicist Jacob Appel, argue that the pardon power is not used nearly widely enough. According to Appel, "It often seems that the principal [[purpose]] of these rare reprieves, much like the pardoning of a Thanksgiving Day turkey, is to make the pardoning politicians appear generous and affable to the electorate."[16]
The history of this [[debate]] reaches at least as far back as [[Plato]], and [[evidence]] of it is found in many cultures.
[[Category: Law]]
A '''pardon''' is the [[forgiveness]] of a [[Transgression|crime]] and the penalty associated with it. It is granted by a head of [[state]], such as a monarch or president, or by a competent church [[authority]]. ''Commutation'' is an associated term, [[meaning]] the lessening of the [[penalty]] of the crime without forgiving the crime itself. A ''reprieve'' is the temporary postponement of [[punishment]]. ''Clemency'' is a general term [[encompassing]] all of these. Today, pardons are granted in many countries when [[individuals]] have [[demonstrated]] that they have [[fulfilled]] their debt to [[society]], or are otherwise deserving (in the opinion of the pardoning official) of a pardon. Pardons are sometimes offered to [[persons]] who claim they have been wrongfully convicted. Some believe accepting such a pardon implicitly constitutes an admission of [[guilt]], so in some cases the offer is refused (cases of wrongful conviction are nowadays more often dealt with by appeal than by pardon).
''Clemency'' is often requested by foreign [[governments]] that do not [[practice]] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment capital punishment] when one of their [[citizens]] has been sentenced to [[death]] by a foreign nation that does practice it.
==Related concepts==
These terms differ subtly from country-to-country, but generally:
: '''Amnesty''': '[[Memory|Forgetting]]' the crime, e.g. if a car thief witnesses a [[murder]], he will often be granted amnesty for his crime in order to allow him to testify against the murderer, or after a civil war a mass amnesty may be granted to absolve all participants of [[guilt]] and 'move on'. Weapon amnesties are often granted so that people can hand in weapons to the police without any [[legal]] [[Examination|questions]] being asked as to where they obtained them/why they had them/etc.
: '''Commutation''': Substituting the [[penalty]] for a crime with the penalty for another, whilst still remaining [[guilty]] of the [[original]] crime (e.g., in the USA, someone who is guilty of murder may have their sentence commuted to life imprisonment rather than [[death]])
: '''Remission''': Complete or partial cancellation of the penalty of a crime, whilst still being considered [[guilty]] of said crime (i.e., reduced penalty).
: '''Reprieve''': Temporary postponement of a punishment, usually so that the accused can mount an appeal (especially if he or she has been sentenced to [[death]])
: '''Clemency''': Catch-all term for all of the above, or just referring to amnesty and pardons.
==Controversy==
Among those who see some [[legitimate]] use for the [[power]] to pardon in some cases, there are those who see it as being susceptible to [[abuse]] if applied inconsistently, selectively, [[arbitrarily]], or without strict, [[publicly]] accessible guidelines. Others believe that the pardon power should be used frequently as a means of infusing [[mercy]] into the [[justice]] [[system]].
The principle of the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Law Rule of Law] is [[intended]] to be a safeguard against such [[arbitrary]] [[governance]]. The 'rule of law', in its most basic form, is the principle that no one is above the law. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Paine Thomas Paine] stated in his pamphlet [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense_(pamphlet) Common Sense] (1776): "For as in [[absolute]] governments the king is law, so in free countries the law ought to be king; and there ought to be no other."
Some [[critics]], such as ethicist Jacob Appel, argue that the pardon power is not used nearly widely enough. According to Appel, "It often seems that the principal [[purpose]] of these rare reprieves, much like the pardoning of a Thanksgiving Day turkey, is to make the pardoning politicians appear generous and affable to the electorate."[16]
The history of this [[debate]] reaches at least as far back as [[Plato]], and [[evidence]] of it is found in many cultures.
[[Category: Law]]