This contribution focuses on the use of the presidential power of clemency in Zambia as a reflective case study. It addresses some of the legitimate questions that arise from a legal and constitutional standpoint in the use of this power. The paper argues that the danger that...
The US Constitution says a president has the power to grant clemency, which includes pardons and commutations. What is a US presidential pardon or commutation? A pardon forgives federal criminal offences, while a commutation reduces penalties. The power has its roots in English law - the monarc...
COMMENTARY Reflections on the Presidential Clemency Power Richard A. Saliterman*Introduction Ten years ago our nation was torn by a civil and legal strife paralleled, perhaps,only by the crisis that challenged the nation during the Civil War. For the first time in history, aSaliterman, Richard ...
There are four different types of clemency that fall under the president's pardoning power: pardon, amnesty, commutation and reprieve. As outlined by the White House, a pardon releases a person from punishment and restores all civil liberties; amnesty is the same as the pardon but is extended...
Biden'scommutations last monthof the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement duringthe coronavirus pandemic, as well as the pardoning of 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. That was the largest single-day act of clemency in mo...
Ford’s offer of clemency came before Nixon had officially been charged with any misdeeds, and covered all federal crimes the former president had “committed or may have committed or taken part in” during his terms in office. At the time, many agreed that Ford’s pardon was necessary to ...
One of the U.S. president’s greatest powers is thepardon power. We were reminded over the weekend of howDonald Trumpwould wield it if he returns to the White House. While railing against the congressional committee thatinvestigated the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the Republi...
Two recent cases have affirmed the power of the President under article II, section 2 of the Constitution'to attach conditions to grants of clemency. In Schick v. Reed'the United States Supreme Court upheld the Presidential commutation of a death sentence to lifeCowlishaw, Patrick R...
his perspective that his son was, you know, subject to vigilante justice. I certainly witnessed that in Republican depositions of Hunter Biden and his attorney, but having said that, what other father in America has a the power to pardon his son or daughter if they’re convicted of a ...
“We’re proud of the work we did on that committee. It was a fundamental oversight obligation to investigate the first attempt to interfere with a peaceful transfer of power in our history. Many of you were here in this building during that violent attack, and we’re proud of the work ...