“The President ... shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.” So says Article 2, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution. In the 20th century alone, presidents have issued roughly 20,000 pardons and reprieves for a great variety of reasons.
Washington pardoned the leader of the Whiskey Rebellion. Madison pardoned army deserters, so they could serve in the War of 1812. Polk pardoned John Frémont, the Republican candidate for president in 1856, after he had been court-martialed for mutiny.
Lincoln pardoned all Civil War deserters on the condition that they return to their units to fight. On Christmas Day 1868, Andrew Johnson extended an unconditional amnesty to all Confederate soldiers.
Truman commuted the death sentence of Oscar Collazo to life in prison. Callazo had tried to assassinate him. Nixon commuted teamster president Jimmy Hoffa’s sentence for attempted bribery of a grand juror. Ford gave Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any federal crimes he may have committed while President. Carter pardoned the Vietnam War draft dodgers.
Clinton pardoned his brother, Roger, after he had served one year of a two-year sentence for distributing cocaine. Among the over 170 felons pardoned so far by George W. Bush was Scooter Libby, Vice-president Cheney’s former chief of staff, after his conviction for perjury and obstruction of justice. The states of Texas and Florida, both of which voted for Bush in 2000 and 2004, received more pardons than any other states.
State governors commonly also have the power to grant pardons and reprieves. Illinois Governor George Ryan, for example, commuted 156 death sentences to life in prison only days before he left office in January 2003. On September 6, 2006, he himself was sentenced to 6½ years in federal prison for corruption. Now the Republican ex-governor waits for a pardon from President Bush, an action publically recommended by Democratic U.S. Senator Dick Durbin. Ironically, Governor Blagojevich granted 22 pardons on the same day when he vowed to fight the pending federal criminal charges against him.
Traditionally, the power to grant pardons, reprieves, and amnesties was the prerogative of individual monarchs and autocrats. It is this tradition that led the Constitutional Convention of 1787 to give the President the power to extend “mercy” to convicted felons. He may do so at any time and does not have to justify his decisions or have them reviewed by anybody. The Convention considered requiring the consent of the Senate for presidential pardons, but the proposal was defeated on the vote of eight states to one.
Over two centuries later, this authoritarian pardon power remains constitutionally enshrined in the U.S. on the national and the state level. Although we pride ourselves in our democratic processes, we do not seem to find it undemocratic that a single, fallible individual may annul or amend--often arbitrarily--the legally binding decisions of jurors and judges. Maybe the time has come to change the pardon power by constitutional amendment and make it subject to legislative majority decision, or at least require legislative review.
Until that ever happens, any felon wishing to be pardoned does not even need an attorney. He or she may download a free application form at http://www.recordgone.com/pardons.htm.