EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY

Executive Clemency: Who Really Knows Best - the Court or the Politician?



Executive Clemency: Who Really Knows Best - the Court or the Politician?

Introduction

Executive clemency is the power that the chief executive of a government has to pardon, to commute the punishment of, or to reduce the punishment of a convicted criminal. Executive clemency is also known as the pardon power, is the capability of an executive officer to forgive violations of criminal laws. Official forgiveness or pardoning is an ancient concept that has existed as long as formal systems of punishment have been used in societies (Ruckman & Kincaid, 1999). In the United States, clemency is a check-and-balance power that the chief executive may use to trump decisions made by the judiciary. Early presidential use and Supreme Court precedents hold that clemency may be used either as an “act of grace” or “for the public welfare,” although recent presidents have at times arguably abused clemency to further their personal legal or financial interests in a few high-profile cases (Moore, 1999).

Still, barring a famous recipient or a scandal, most executive clemency actions are barely noticed by the public. Even in the most notorious circumstances, Congress has just two Draconian tools with which to check the clemency power: impeaching the president or amending the U.S. Constitution (Lardner, 2003). The legislature does hold a number of indirect pressure points, however, such as holding hearings, demanding documents, issuing subpoenas, and cutting funding. Controversial clemency decisions by “lame duck” (end of tenure) presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush have raised questions about the effectiveness of current checks on the clemency power (Hoffstadt, 2001). Typical pardon decisions by recent presidents have excused such crimes as tax evasion, embezzlement, making a false statement to a government entity or a bank, and moonshining. Only the president of the United States has the power to forgive federal offenses.

State governors may grant clemency for violations of state law. The executive clemency power is usually held by the governor alone, though he or she may act with or without the assistance of a clemency board. A few modern state clemency decisions have earned headlines: New Mexico Governor Toney Anaya commuted the death sentences of all five of his state's death row prisoners in 1986 because of his personal opposition to the death penalty; and in 2003, outgoing governor George Ryan commuted the death sentences of all 167 Illinois death-row inmates amid concerns about fairness in the administration of justice. More recently, former Arkansas governor and ex-presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee penned an op-ed for the Washington Post titled “Why I Commuted Maurice Clemmons's Sentence,” a move spurred by criticism over Huckabee's 2000 decision to grant clemency to Clemmons, a longtime criminal suspected of killing four police officers in November 2009.

Discussion

Types and Methods of Executive Clemency

Article II of the U.S. Constitution gives the chief executive the power to “grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of ...