Amnesty (from the Greek amnestia, oblivion) is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the position of innocent persons. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offense. A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it The word has the same root as amnesia.

Amnesties, which in the United Kingdom, may be granted by the crown alone, or by an act of Parliament, were formerly usual on coronations and similar occasions, but are chiefly exercised towards associations of political criminals, and are sometimes granted absolutely, though more frequently there are certain specified exceptions. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories Thus, in the case of the earliest recorded amnesty, that of Thrasybulus at Athens, the thirty tyrants and a few others were expressly excluded from its operation; and the amnesty proclaimed on the restoration of Charles II of England did not extend to those who had taken part in the execution of his father. Thrasybulus ( Θρασύβουλος, 'brave-willed' θræsɪˈbjuːləs d Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland. Other famous amnesties include: Napoleon's amnesty of March 13, 1815 from which thirteen eminent persons, including Talleyrand, were exempt; the Prussian amnesty of August 10, 1840; the general amnesty proclaimed by the emperor Franz Josef I of Austria in 1857; the general amnesty granted by President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, after the American Civil War (1861-April 9, 1865), in 1868, and the French amnesty of 1905. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. Events 1138 - Cardinal Gregorio Conti is elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II. Year 1815 ( MDCCCXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord 1st Sovereign Prince of Beneventum (2 February 1754 17 May 1838 the Prince of Diplomats, was a French Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state Events 612 BC - Killing of Sinsharishkun, King of Assyrian Empire Year 1840 ( MDCCCXL) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Franz Joseph I Karl (- German, in English Francis Joseph I Charles, see the name in other languages) (18 August 1830 &ndash 21 November The President of the United States is the Head of state and Head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in United States by Andrew Johnson (December 29 1808 – July 31 1875 was the seventeenth President of the United States (1865-69 succeeding to the Presidency upon the assassination Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South Year 1861 ( MDCCCLXI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Events 193 - Septimius Severus is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the army in Illyricum (in the Balkans) Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The last act of amnesty passed in Great Britain was that of 1747, which pardoned those who had taken part in the 1745 Jacobite Rising. See also Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain (Breatainn Mhòr Prydain Fawr Breten Veur Graet Breetain is the larger of the two main islands The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings rebellions and wars in the kingdoms of England, Kingdom of Scotland (later the United Kingdom of Great Britain

Contents 1 Purposes 2 Controversy 3 Related uses of the term 4 Improper uses of the term 5 See also 6 References

Purposes

An amnesty may be extended when the authority decides that bringing citizens into compliance with a law is more important than punishing them for past offenses. Amnesty is often used to get people to turn in contraband, as in the case of China's gun restrictions,^[1] or the Kansas City ban on pit bulls. ^[2] Advantage of using amnesty may include avoiding expensive prosecutions (especially when massive numbers of violators are involved); prompting violators to come forward who might otherwise have eluded authorities; and promoting reconciliation between offenders and society. An example of the latter was the amnesty that was granted to conscientious objectors and draft dodgers in the wake of the Vietnam War in the 1970s, in an effort by President Carter to heal war wounds. A draft dodger, draft evader or draft resister, is a person who avoids ("dodges" or otherwise violates the Conscription policies of the The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia ^[3]

Controversy

Nonetheless, amnesty can also raise questions of justice. An example was the Ugandan government's offer to not prosecute alleged war criminal Joseph Kony, in hopes that further bloodshed would be avoided. Joseph Kony (born ca 1962 is the head of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA a guerrilla group that is engaged in a violent campaign to establish a theocratic ^[4] David Smock noted, "The downside of it is the impunity that it implies; that people can commit atrocities and say that they will only stop if they are given amnesty. . . "^[5]

A controversial issue in the United States is whether illegal immigrants should be granted some form of amnesty. It is proposed that immigrants be able to come forward and immediately receive probationary status. ^[6] This is criticized as being a reward for breaking the law. ^[7]

Related uses of the term

• The term amnesty is also any initiative where individuals are encouraged to turn over illicit items to the authorities, on the understanding that they will not be prosecuted for having been in possession of those items. A common use of such amnesties, is to reduce the number of firearms or other weapons in circulation. Several public schools with a zero-tolerance policy on drugs or weapons have an "amnesty box" in which students may dispose of contraband objects brought to school without consequence.

• Amnesty was used in South Africa, during the 1990s, as part of the TRC (Truth and Reconciliation)
• In the United States immigration debate, allowing illegal immigrants to legally remain in the United States is often called amnesty. This is about the South African body For similar bodies in other countries see Truth commission. Illegal immigration to the United States refers to the act of foreign nationals voluntarily resettling in the United States in violation of U ^[8] Some observers contend that the word amnesty is improperly applied here. One reason for this contention is that the proposals under consideration include financial penalties for illegal immigrants. Another reason is that the government's current practice is generally to deport but not to prosecute illegal immigrants. Hence, there is no legal adjudication of guilt to be forgiven. ^[9]

• Many libraries have an amnesty week where people can return late library books and they will not be charged a fine for having them out.

In criminal law, a sovereign act of oblivion or forgetfulness (from Greek amnestia, "forgetfulness") granted by a government, especially to a group of persons who are guilty of (usually political) crimes in the past. It is often conditional upon the group's return to obedience and duty within a prescribed period. The Amnesty itself was founded on July 2006.

• At the United States Military Academy and the United States Naval Academy, any head of state visiting the academy may ask the Superintendent to grant amnesty to members of the Corps of Cadets with outstanding punishment tours, freeing the restricted cadets from further punishment tours. "USMA" redirects here For other uses see USMA (disambiguation The United States Military Academy (also known as USMA, The United States Naval Academy is an undergraduate college in Annapolis, Maryland, United States that educates and commissions officers of the United States In the past this was for all offenses, but in recent times only cadets with minor offenses (company board) are eligible for amnesty, while cadets with major offenses (regimental or higher board) are ineligible.

Improper uses of the term

• Describing a change in a law which renders innocent actions which previously broke the law. For example, raising the speed limit from 55 to 70 is not "amnesty", even though those who have always gone 65 may now do so innocently. That is simply "changing the law", which is the job of lawmakers. Genuine amnesty is where a particular group of lawbreakers are pardoned for past violations which would otherwise be subject to prosecution.

• Referring to imposed lesser sentences or punishments that are not "more than pardon, inasmuch as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offense" as amnesty. A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it

• Often wrongly or purposely used by politicians and/or journalists to denote cases of pardon where offenses are not stricken from the record and individuals proclaimed innocent. Instead, those individuals receive some lesser reprimand or sentence in response to an admission of guilt. Otherwise defined as an act of leniency but not amnesty, per se. .

See also

• Tax amnesty

References

Tax amnesty is a limited-time opportunity for a specified group of taxpayers to pay a defined amount in exchange for forgiveness of a tax liability (including interest and penalties relating

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