- Power is good and bad, sometimes at the same time.Capitol Building image by dwight9592 from Fotolia.com
This is a democracy. The people get the kind of government they deserve. If you're going to be a good citizen, you have to know the powers of government and their benefits and possible abuses. Grants of clemency give state governors and the President extraordinary power--and the possibility of serious abuse. - The Constitution the United States and various state constitutions give the President and the governors of each state broad powers over citizens convicted of crimes in their jurisdictions.
Article 2, Section 2 of the United States Constitution allows the President to essentially wipe out a criminal conviction. By signing a document called a Grant of Clemency, he can lift a sentence completely and restore all rights to someone convicted of a crime. He can reduce the sentence or delay it. He can eliminate restitution to victims and the payment of a fine. He can extend the same clemency to a group of individuals.
Governors of each state have similar powers, although there are small differences from state to state. - Sometimes the courts make a mistake. Emotion, an over-zealous prosecutor and local bias can convict an innocent man. For example, in February 1974, an heiress to the Hearst newspaper fortune, Patty Hearst, was kidnapped, imprisoned and abused for seven months by a politically extreme group called the Symbionese Liberation Army. She responded to her imprisonment and abuse by joining their cause and helping them rob a bank. She was arrested and convicted by questionable testimony. It became clear after she had served several months that she wasn't able to make reasonable decisions while being held captive. President Jimmy Carter commuted her sentence and she was released from prison. President Bill Clinton gave her a full pardon in 2001.
- The President and state governors powers of clemency can't be challenged except by another President or governor. Nor can it be questioned. Since both the President and the governors receive political contributions, it is often apparent to some that a grant of clemency may be linked to a political contribution. In 2001, the U.S. House of Representative Committee on the Judiciary investigated the 177 grants of clemency given by President Clinton in the final days of his presidency. It was charged that many of these grants of clemency were in response to political contributions. Testimony given at the hearings showed that President Clinton gave clemency to Marc Rich, who was charged with a serious act of fraud. Rich's ex-wife gave generous contributions to the Democratic Party and to both Bill and Hillary Clinton personally.
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