Criminal procedure
Criminal trials and convictions
Rights of the accused
Fair trial  · Speedy trial  · Jury trial
Counsel  · Presumption of innocence
Exclusionary rule (U.S.)
Self-incrimination  · Double jeopardy (Not E&W)
Verdict
Acquittal  · Conviction
Not proven (Scot.)  · Directed verdict
Sentencing
Mandatory  · Suspended  · Custodial
Dangerous offender (Can., E&W)
Capital punishment  · Execution warrant
Cruel and unusual punishment
Post-conviction events
Parole  · Probation
Tariff (UK)  · Life licence (UK)
Miscarriage of justice
Exoneration  · Pardon
Related areas of law
Criminal defenses
Criminal law  · Evidence
Civil procedure
Portals: Law  · Criminal justice

A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. Criminal procedure refers to the legal process for adjudicating claims that someone has violated Criminal law. The rights of the accused is a class of rights that apply to a person in the time period between when they are formally accused of a crime and when they are either convicted or acquitted The right to fair trial is an essential right in all countries respecting the Rule of law. Speedy trial refers to one of the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution to defendants in criminal proceedings Right to counsel is nowadays generally regarded as a constituent of the Right to a fair trial, allowing for the defendant to be assisted by counsel (i The presumption of innocence being innocent until proven guilty is a legal Right that the Accused in Criminal trials has The exclusionary rule is a legal principle in the United States, under constitutional law, that holds that evidence collected or analyzed in violation of Courts of the United States may refer both to the United States federal courts, which operate under the authority of the United States Constitution Self-incrimination is the act of accusing oneself of a Crime for which a person can then be Prosecuted. Double jeopardy (non bis in idem is a Procedural defense (and in many countries such as the United States, Canada, Mexico and India Her Majesty's Courts of Justice of England and Wales are the civil and criminal Courts responsible for the administration of Justice in England In Law, a verdict is the formal finding of fact made by a Jury on matters or questions submitted to the jury by a judge In Criminal law, an acquittal is a verdict of not guilty, or some similar end of the proceeding that terminates it with prejudice without a verdict In Law, a conviction is the Verdict that results when a Court of law finds a Defendant guilty of a Crime. Not proven is a Verdict available to a court in Scotland. Under Scots law, a criminal trial may end in one of three verdicts The civil, criminal and heraldic Courts of Scotland are responsible for the administration of Justice. In Law, a directed Verdict is ruling by a Judge presiding over a Jury trial typically made after the plaintiff has presented all of her evidence In Law, a sentence forms the final act of a Judge -ruled process and also the symbolic principal act connected to his function A mandatory sentence is a court decision setting where Judicial discretion is limited by Law. A suspended sentence is a legal construct Unless a minimum punishment is prescribed by law the Court has the power to suspend the passing of sentence (generally A custodial sentence is a judicial sentence imposing a punishment (and hence the resulting punishment itself consisting of mandatory custody of the convict either in prison In Canada, England and Wales, certain convicted persons may be designated as dangerous offenders and subject to a longer or indefinite term of imprisonment The court system of Canada is made up of many Courts differing in levels of legal superiority and separated by jurisdiction Her Majesty's Courts of Justice of England and Wales are the civil and criminal Courts responsible for the administration of Justice in England Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. An execution warrant or death warrant is a warrant which authorizes the execution of a judgment of death ( Capital punishment) on an individual Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system Probation is the suspension of all or part of a jail sentence the Criminal who is "on probation" has been convicted of a crime but instead of serving jail Under the criminal law of England and Wales, a tariff is the minimum period that a person serving an indefinite Prison sentence must serve before that person becomes The United Kingdom does not have a single unified Judicial system, but separate judicial systems serving England and Wales, Scotland and Northern In the British criminal justice system a life licence specifies the conditions under which a prisoner sentenced to life in jail may be released The United Kingdom does not have a single unified Judicial system, but separate judicial systems serving England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Exoneration occurs when a person who has been convicted of a Crime is later proved to have been innocent of that crime The term criminal law, sometimes called penal law, refers to any of various bodies of rules in different Jurisdictions whose common characteristic is the potential The Law of evidence governs the use of Testimony (eg oral or written statements such as an Affidavit) and exhibits (e Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the process that Courts will follow when hearing cases of a civil nature (a " Civil action " as opposed to It is granted by a sovereign power, such as a monarch or chief of state or a competent church authority. Sovereignty is the exclusive Right to control a Government, a country, a people or oneself Head of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a Monarchic or Republican Nation-state Clemency is an associated term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime itself. The act of clemency is a reprieve. Today, pardons and reprieves 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 or reprieve. Pardons are sometimes offered to persons who, it is claimed, have been wrongfully convicted. However, 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). In Law, an appeal is a process for requesting a formal change to an official decision

Clemency is often requested by foreign governments who don't use capital punishment when one of their citizens has been given the death penalty. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment.

Contents 1 Pardons and clemency by country 1.1 Pardons and clemency in Canada 1.1.1 Pardons 1.1.2 Clemency 1.2 Pardons and clemency in France 1.3 Pardons in Germany 1.4 Pardons in Greece 1.5 Pardons and clemency in Hong Kong 1.6 Pardons in India 1.7 Pardons in Islamic Republic of Iran 1.8 Pardons in Ireland 1.9 Pardons in Italy 1.10 Pardons in Russia 1.11 Pardons in South Africa 1.11.1 Process for Application For Presidential Pardon 1.12 Pardons and clemency in the United Kingdom 1.13 Pardons and clemency in the United States 2 Pardon in Christianity 3 References 4 External links

Pardons and clemency by country

Pardons and clemency in Canada

Pardons

Canadian Pardons are considered by the National Parole Board under the Criminal Records Act, the Criminal Code and several other laws. The National Parole Board is a Canadian government agency that operates under the auspices of Public Safety Canada. The Criminal Records Act is an Act to provide for the relief of persons who have been convicted of offences and have subsequently Rehabilitated themselves The Criminal Code of Canada (long title An Act respecting the criminal law, R For Criminal Code crimes there is a three-year waiting period for summary offences, and a five-year waiting period for indictable offences. A summary offense, also known as a petty crime, is a criminal act in some Common law jurisdictions that can be proceeded with summarily without the right In many Common law Jurisdictions (eg the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Canada, United States, India, The waiting period commences after the sentence is completed. In principle the information provided above is correct but most convictions have additional time allocated due to court imposed fines, probation and other convictions.

Completing a Canadian pardon application is a complex and time-consuming process, and any error in the application may cause needless and costly delays. Processing time for each application depends on whether it qualifies as an emergency. For regular applications, the typical process can take a year or two, or more. Emergency Pardons are difficult to obtain, and are evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the National Parole Board. Once pardoned, a criminal records search for that individual reveals "no record". A criminal record is a record of a person's criminal history generally used by potential employers lenders etc

Clemency

In Canada, clemency is granted by the Governor-General of Canada or the Governor in Council (the federal cabinet) under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy. The Governor General of Canada ( French: Gouverneure générale du Canada, or: Gouverneur général du Canada) is the vice-regal representative The Queen-in-Council (or during the reign of a male monarch King-in-Council) is the technical term of Constitutional law that refers to the exercise of Executive The Royal Prerogative is a body of customary authority privilege and immunity recognised in Common law and sometimes in Civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy Applications are also made to the National Parole Board, as in pardons, but clemency may involve the commutation of a sentence, or the remission of all or part of the sentence, a respite from the sentence (for a medical condition) or a relief from a prohibition (e. Commutation of sentence involves the reduction of legal penalties, especially in terms of imprisonment. g. , to allow someone to drive that has been prohibited from driving).

Pardons and clemency in France

Pardons and acts of clemency (grâces) are granted by the President of France, who, ultimately, is the sole judge of the propriety of the measure. The President of the French Republic (Président de la République française colloquially referred to in English as the President of France, is France 's elected It is a prerogative of the President which is directly inherited from that of the Kings of France. The convicted person sends a request for pardon to the President of the Republic. The prosecutor of the court that pronounced the verdict reports on the case, and the case goes to the Ministry of Justice's directorate of criminal affairs and pardons for further consideration. The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the Common law Adversarial system, or the civil law The French Minister of Justice ( Ministre de la Justice) is an important cabinet member in the Government of France.

If granted, the decree of pardon is signed by the President, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice and possibly other ministers involved in the consideration of the case. A decree is an order made by a Head of state or government and having the force of Law. The Prime Minister of France ( Premier ministre français) in Fifth Republic is the functional Head of the government and Council of Ministers It is not published in the Journal Officiel. JORF redirects here For the radio station in Japan see Radio Nippon.

The decree may spare the applicant from serving the balance of his or her sentence, or commute the sentence to a lesser one. It does not suppress the right for the victim of the crime to obtain compensation for the damages it suffered, and does not erase the condemnation from the criminal record. In Law, damages refers to the money paid or awarded to a Claimant (England Pursuer (Scotland or Plaintiff (US following a successful A criminal record is a record of a person's criminal history generally used by potential employers lenders etc

When the death penalty was in force in France, almost all capital sentences resulted in a presidential review for a possible pardon. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. Sentenced criminals were routinely given a sufficient delay before execution so that their requests for pardons could be examined. If granted, clemency would usually entail a commutation to a life sentence. Life imprisonment or life incarceration is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime often for most

The Parliament of France, on occasions, grants amnesty. This article is for the post-Revolutionary and present-day institution 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 This is a different concept and procedure from that described above, although the phrase "presidential amnesty" (amnistie présidentielle) is sometimes pejoratively applied to some acts of parliament traditionally voted upon after a presidential election, granting amnesty for minor crimes.

Pardons in Germany

Similar to the United States, the right to grant pardon in Germany is divided between the federal and the state level. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Federal jurisdiction in matters of criminal law is mostly restricted to appeals against decisions of state courts. Only "political" crimes like treason or terrorism are tried on behalf the federal government by the highest state courts. Accordingly, the category of persons eligible for a federal pardon is rather narrow. The right to grant a federal pardon lies in the office of the President of Germany, but he or she can transfer this power to other persons, such as the chancellor or the minister of justice. The President of Germany (deutscher Bundespräsident is Germany 's Head of state. In early 2007 there was a widespread public discussion about the granting of pardons in Germany after convicted Red Army Faction terrorist Christian Klar, serving a six times life imprisonment sentence since 1982 and not eligible for parole until at least 2009, filed a petition for pardon. The Red Army Faction or RAF ( German Rote Armee Fraktion) (in its early stages commonly known as Baader-Meinhof Group ''Gang'' was one Christian Klar (born May 20, 1952 in Freiburg) was a leading member of the second generation of the German terrorist group Red President Horst Köhler ultimately denied his request. Horst Köhler ( born 22 February 1943) is a German politician ( CDU) and economist who serves as the current President of Germany. For all other (and therefore the vast majority of) convicts, pardons are in the jurisdiction of the states. In some states it is granted by the respective cabinet, but in most states the state constitution vests the authority in the state prime minister. As on the federal level, the authority may be transferred.

Amnesty can be granted only by federal law. 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

Pardons in Greece

The Constitution of Greece grants the power of pardon to the President of the Republic (Art. The Constitution of Greece (Σύνταγμα / Sýntagma) was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975 47, § 1). He can pardon, commute or remit punishment imposed by any court, on the proposal of the Minister of Justice and after receiving the opinion (not the consent necessarily) of the Pardon Committee.

Pardons and clemency in Hong Kong

Prior to the handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the power of pardon was a royal prerogative of mercy of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The transfer of sovereignty of Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China, often referred to as the Handover The Royal Prerogative is a body of customary authority privilege and immunity recognised in Common law and sometimes in Civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy See also List of British consorts. This is a list of the monarchs of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located This was used and cited the most often just prior to the handover from British to Chinese rule from inmates who had been given the death penalty (which was abolished in 1993) and did not have an alternative sentence from the court, and they, therefore, requested the Queen to exercise her power of mercy. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment.

Since the handover, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong now exercises the power to grant pardons and commute penalties under section 12 of article 48 Basic Law of Hong Kong. The Chief Executive of Hong Kong ( is the head of Hong Kong Government and the principal representative of the Hong Kong. The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, or simply Hong Kong Basic Law, serves as the Constitutional document "The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall exercise the following powers and functions. . . To pardon persons convicted of criminal offences or commute their penalties".

Pardons in India

Under the Constitution of India (Article 72), the President of India can grant a pardon or reduce the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving capital punishment. The Constitution of India ( Hindi: भारतीय़ संविधान see names in other Indian languages) is the supreme law of India. The President of India or Rashtrapati ( Hindi: राष्ट्रपति a Sanskrit Neologism, lit The decisions involving pardoning by the president are based on the advice of the Central Government (Kehar Singh vs Union of India,1989). This power given to the president under Article 72 is also subjected to Judicial Review. Hence, this power is of an executive character.

Pardons in Islamic Republic of Iran

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Supreme Leader has the power to pardon and offer clemency under Article 110, § 1, §§ 11. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The post of Supreme Leader ( Persian: رهبر انقلاب Rahbare Enqelab, lit

Pardons in Ireland

Under the Constitution of Ireland Art 13 Sec 6 the President of Ireland can pardon convicted criminals "The right of pardon and the power to commute or remit punishment imposed by any court exercising criminal jurisdiction are hereby vested in the President, but such power of commutation or remission may also be conferred by law on other authorities". The Constitution of Ireland (Bunreacht na hÉireann came into force on 29 December 1937 after having been passed by a national plebiscite the previous July The President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ is the Head of state of Ireland.

Pardons in Italy

In Italy the President of the Republic can “ . . . grant pardons, or commute punishments . . . ”, art. 87 of the Italian constitution. The Constitution of the Italian Republic (Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana was enacted by the Constituent Assembly on 22 December 1947 with 453 votes in favour and 62 However, “ . . . no acts of the President can come into force unless they are signed also by the Minister they are proposed by . A minister or a secretary is a Politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional Government. . . ”, art. 89 of the Italian Constitution. Concerning to the pardon, the proposing Minister must be the Minister of Justice, as we can understand by reading art 681 c. p. p. . The problem, at this moment, is related to the exact interpretation of the two articles of the Italian Constitution reminded above: do all of the acts of the President need a proposal and a sign of a Minister? or there are some acts that the President can take by himself, without any conditioning?. In other words, there are three different theories about the pardon in Italy:

• President can take the pardon decree without any conditioning, and the Minister of Justice is obliged to sign the act.
• President and Minister of Justice must agree to take the decree.
• President is obliged to take the decree, simply by signing the Minister's proposal.

The problem has been examined by the Constitutional Court of Italy, that ruled that the first theory is the correct one (the Minister of Justice is obliged to sign the act). The Constitutional Court of Italy (Corte costituzionale della Repubblica Italiana is a Supreme court of Italy, the other being the Court of Cassation

The Minister of Justice, nowadays, aided by his offices, collects information about the condemned to make a correct pardon purpose. With the pardon decree, President can either extinguish the punishment, or change kind of punishment in another one permitted by law. Pardon, unless is said otherwise in the decree, can't remove all the effects of a penal sentence (like the mention in the certificate of conduct), in fact, it extinguishes only the main punishment (prison or pecuniary sanction), 174 c. p.

Pardons in Russia

The President of the Russian Federation is granted the right of pardon by Article 89 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The President of Russia (Президент России or the President of the Russian Federation, Президент Российской For the constitution of the Imperial Russia see Russian Constitution of 1906 The current Constitution of the Russian Federation The Pardon Committee manages lists of people eligible for pardon and directs them to the President for signing. While President Boris Yeltsin frequently used his power of pardon, his successor Vladimir Putin is much more hesitant; in recent years he has not used pardon at all. Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin () (1 February 1931 23 April 2007 was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999 Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (; born 7 October 1952 in Leningrad, USSR; now Saint Petersburg, Russia was the second President of Russia

Pardons in South Africa

Under section 84(2)(j) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996), the President of the Republic of South Africa is responsible for pardoning or reprieving offenders. This power of the President is only exercised in highly exceptional cases.

To pardon a person is to forgive a person for his/her deeds. The pardon process is therefore not available to persons who maintain their innocence and is not an advanced form of appeal procedure.

Pardon is only granted for minor offences after a period of 10 years has elapsed since the relevant conviction.

For many serious offences (for example if the relevant court viewed the offence in such a serious light that direct imprisonment was imposed) pardon will not be granted even if more than 10 years have elapsed since the conviction.

Process for Application For Presidential Pardon

A clearance certificate, must be obtained; this can be done at the nearest police station, from where the application will be sent to the Criminal Record Centre, and the certificate will be either mailed, or delivered to the police station concerned. A letter is then sent to the Department of Justice, Private Bag X81, Pretoria stating that it is an application for presidential pardon. A response can be expected within three months acknowledging receipt thereof, with attached forms from an Administrative Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development. The process continues by completing and returning the application form.

Pardons and clemency in the United Kingdom

The power to grant pardons and reprieves is a royal prerogative of mercy of the monarch of the United Kingdom. The Royal Prerogative is a body of customary authority privilege and immunity recognised in Common law and sometimes in Civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy See also List of British consorts. This is a list of the monarchs of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located It was traditionally in the absolute power of the monarch to pardon and release an individual who had been convicted of a crime from that conviction and its intended penalty. Pardons were granted to many in the 18th century on condition that the convicted felons accept transportation overseas, such as to Australia. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. The first General Pardon in England was issued in celebration of the coronation of Edward III in 1327. A coronation is a ceremony marking the investiture of a Monarch with regal power specifically involving the placement of a crown upon his or her head and the Edward III (13 November 1312 &ndash 21 June 1377 was one of the most successful English monarchs of the Middle Ages. In 2006 all British soldiers executed for cowardice during World War I were pardoned, resolving a long-running controversy about the justice of their executions. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located A soldier is a general English term that refers to a member of a land component of National Armed forces. Capital punishment, the death penalty or execution, is the Killing of a person by judicial process as Punishment. Coward redirects here For other meanings including as a surname see Coward (disambiguation. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All (See Armed Forces Act 2006, [1]. The Armed Forces Act 2006 received royal assent in the United Kingdom on 8 November 2006 )

There are significant procedural differences in the present use of the royal pardon, however. Today the monarch may only grant a pardon on the advice of the Home Secretary or the First Minister of Scotland (or the Defence Secretary in military justice cases), and the policy of the Home Office and Scottish Executive is only to grant pardons to those who are "morally" innocent of the offence (as opposed to those who may have been wrongly convicted by misapplication of the law). The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the United Kingdom Home Office The First Minister of Scotland (Prìomh Mhinistear na h-Alba First Meinister o Scotland is the head of the devolved Scottish The Secretary of State for Defence is the senior United Kingdom government minister in charge of the Ministry of Defence. Pardons are generally no longer issued prior to conviction, but only after conviction. A pardon is no longer considered to remove the conviction itself, but only removes the penalty which was imposed. Use of the prerogative is now rare, particularly since the establishment of the Criminal Cases Review Commission and Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission, which provide a statutory remedy for miscarriages of justice. The Criminal Cases Review Commission is an Non-Departmental Public Body set up following the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice itself a continuation of the The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC is a non-departmental public body in Scotland, established by the Criminal Procedure (Scotland Act 1995

According to the Act of Settlement a pardon can not prevent a person from being impeached by Parliament, but may rescind the penalty following conviction. The Act of Settlement is an act of the Parliament of England, originally filed in 1700 and passed in 1701 to settle the succession to the English throne Impeachment is the first of two stages in a specific process for a legislative body to forcibly remove a Government official In England and Wales nobody may be pardoned for an offence under section 11 of the Habeas Corpus Act 1679 (unlawfully transporting prisoners out of England and Wales). History The Roman occupation of Britain was the first period in which the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit (with the exception The Habeas Corpus Act 1679 is an Act of the Parliament of England (31 Cha [2]

Pardons and clemency in the United States

See also: List of people pardoned by a United States president

In the United States, the pardon power for Federal crimes is granted to the President by the United States Constitution, Article II, Section 2, which states that the President:

shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. The following list of people pardoned by a United States president documents the most prominent cases of each presidency The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In the United States, a federal crime or federal offense is a Crime that is either made illegal by U 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 The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme Law of the United States. Impeachment is the first of two stages in a specific process for a legislative body to forcibly remove a Government official

The Supreme Court has interpreted this language to include the power to grant pardons, conditional pardons, commutations of sentence, conditional commutations of sentence, remissions of fines and forfeitures, respites and amnesties. The Pardon power of the United States Constitution has been broadly interpreted to include a variety of specific powers 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 ^[1] All federal pardon petitions are addressed to the President, who grants or denies the request. Typically, applications for pardons are referred for review and non-binding recommendation by the Office of the Pardon Attorney, an official of the Department of Justice. The Office of the Pardon Attorney, in consultation with the Attorney General or his designee assists the President in the exercise of executive clemency as authorized For animal rights group see Justice Department (JD The United States Department of Justice ( DOJ) is a Cabinet department Since 1977, presidents have received about 600 pardon or clemency petitions a year^[2] and have granted around ten percent of these^[3], although the percentage of pardons and reprieves granted varies from administration to administration (fewer pardons have been granted since World War II). World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including ^[4]

The pardon power was controversial from the outset; many Anti-Federalists remembered examples of royal abuses of the pardon power in Europe, and warned that the same would happen in the new republic. However, Alexander Hamilton makes a strong defense of the pardon power in The Federalist Papers, particularly in Federalist No. 74. The Federalist Papers are a series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the United States Constitution. Federalist No 74 ( Federalist Number 74) is an Essay by Alexander Hamilton and the seventy-fourth of the Federalist Papers. It is worthy of note that Hamilton called for something like an elective monarch at the Philadelphia Convention. The Philadelphia Convention (now also known as the Constitutional Convention, the Federal Convention, or the " Grand Convention at Philadelphia In his final day in office, George Washington granted the first high-profile Federal pardon to leaders of the Whiskey Rebellion. George Washington (February 22 1732 December 14 1799 served as the first President of the United States of America (1789&ndash1797 and led the The Whiskey Rebellion, less commonly known as the Whiskey Insurrection, was a popular uprising that had its beginnings in 1791 and culminated in an insurrection in 1794 in the

Many pardons have been controversial; critics argue that pardons have been used more often for the sake of political expediency than to correct judicial error. A controversy or dispute is a commencement of a conflict between statements of accepted fact and a new or unaccepted proposal that disagrees with argues against One of the more famous recent pardons was granted by President Gerald Ford to former President Richard Nixon on September 8, 1974, for official misconduct which gave rise to the Watergate scandal. Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr (July 14 1913 December 26 2006 was the thirty-eighth President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 and the fortieth Vice President Events 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem. 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. The Watergate scandals were a series of Political scandals during the presidency of Richard Nixon that resulted in the Indictment of several of Nixon's Polls showed a majority of Americans disapproved of the pardon and Ford's public-approval ratings tumbled afterward. He was then narrowly defeated in the presidential campaign, two years later. Other controversial uses of the pardon power include Andrew Johnson's sweeping pardons of thousands of former Confederate officials and military personnel after the American Civil War, Jimmy Carter's grant of amnesty to Vietnam-era draft evaders, George H. W. Bush's pardons of 75 people, including six Reagan administration officials accused and/or convicted in connection with the Iran-Contra affair, Bill Clinton's pardons of convicted FALN terrorists and 140 people on his last day in office - including billionaire fugitive Marc Rich, and George W. Bush's commutation of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison term. 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 James Earl "Jimmy" Carter Jr (born October 1 1924 was the thirty-ninth President of the United States, serving from 1977 to 1981 and the recipient of the 2002 The following is a list of the 75 pardons and 3 commutations by President George H The United States Presidency of Ronald Reagan, also known as the Reagan Administration, was a Republican administration headed by The Iran-Contra affair was a political scandal which was revealed in November 1986 as a result of earlier events during the Reagan administration. William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III, August 19 1946 served as the forty-second President of the United States President Bill Clinton was widely criticized for some Pardons and other acts of executive clemency collectively this controversy has sometimes been called Pardongate A billionaire is a person who has a Net worth of at least one billion units of currency such as United States dollars ( USD /US$ U Marc Rich (born Marc David Reich on December 18, 1934) is an international commodities trader George Walker Bush ( born July 6 1946 is the forty-third and current President of the United States. Irve Lewis "Scooter" Libby (born August 22 1950) is a former Assistant to the President of the United States, George W

The Justice Department recommends anyone requesting a pardon must wait five years after conviction or release prior to receiving a pardon. A presidential pardon may be granted at any time, however, and as when Ford pardoned Nixon, the pardoned person need not yet have been convicted or even formally charged with a crime. Clemency may also be granted without the filing of a formal request and even if the intended recipient has no desire to be pardoned. In the overwhelming majority of cases, however, the Pardon Attorney will consider only petitions from persons who have completed their sentences and, in addition, have demonstrated their ability to lead a responsible and productive life for a significant period after conviction or release from confinement. ^[5]

It appears that a pardon can be rejected, and must be affirmatively accepted to be officially recognized by the courts. Acceptance also carries with it an admission of guilt. ^[6] However, the federal courts have yet to make it clear how this logic applies to persons who are deceased (such as Henry O. Flipper - who was pardoned by Bill Clinton), those who are relieved from penalties as a result of general amnesties and those whose punishments are relieved via a commutation of sentence (which cannot be rejected in any sense of the language. Henry Ossian Flipper ( March 21, 1856 &ndash May 3, 1940) was an American soldier and the first Black American Cadet )^[7]

The pardon power of the President extends only to offenses cognizable under U.S. Federal law. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Federal law is the body of Law created by the Federal government of a country However, the governors of most states have the power to grant pardons or reprieves for offenses under state criminal law. A governor is a governing official usually the executive (at least nominally to different degrees also politically and administratively of a non-sovereign level of government A US state is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the United States of America that share Sovereignty with the federal government In other states, that power is committed to an appointed agency or board, or to a board and the governor in some hybrid arrangement.

Pardon in Christianity

In Christian theology, a pardon is the result of forgiveness, extended by God through Jesus. Christian Theology is discourse concerning Christian faith Christian theologians use biblical Exegesis, rational analysis and argument Forgiveness doesn't mean that you deny the other person's responsibility for hurting you and it doesn't minimize or justify the wrong God is the principal or sole Deity in Religions and other belief systems that worship one deity. Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) A pardoned person is forgiven their sins, and thus experiences new birth, or is born again. For more information, see:

• Atonement
• Atonement (Governmental view)
• Confession
• Sin
• Substitutionary atonement

References

External links

Canada

• Pardon application for Canada

United States

• List of pardon/clemency policies for various U.S. states
• Pardon Power Blog
• USDOJ Office of the Pardon Attorney
• Dershowitz, Alan M. (July 16 1989). Alan Morton Dershowitz (born September 1, 1938) is an American Lawyer, Jurist, and political commentator. "What's Mercy Got To Do With It?". New York Times.   Review of the book, Pardons: Justice, Mercy, and the Public Interest by Kathleen Dean Moore.

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