Last month, this dose of news flew under the radar of most national media outlets.
President Bush pardoned 16 people who were convicted of crimes ranging from defrauding the U.S. government to distilling illegal liquor. He also commuted the sentence of an Iowa man convicted on trafficking in drugs.
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Presidents have the right to pardon criminals. The president is given that right in the Constitution - Article 2, Section 2. The president can order pardons any time of the year, like President Gerald Ford’s pardon of President Richard Nixon. (Ford’s pardon was perhaps the most precedent-setting, since it was clemency for crimes that might have been committed.) Abraham Lincoln, in a famous anecdote of his humanity, pardoned a Confederate spy who was friendless, and had no letters of support. “Then, I will be his friend,” Lincoln told his aide, and the man walked free.
Presidential pardons go through the Justice Department and require a nominal application fee. Eligibility is after five years from release from prison. The applicant has to address the letter to the president. Behavior after the crime is considered, so is remorse. The Office of the Pardon Attorney makes recommendations to the president, who is free to accept or deny. The process usually takes about two years.
The president who granted the most pardons?
Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was elected to the office four times. He granted 3,687 clemencies. George Washington granted 16. The current President Bush has issued 113 pardons, his father, the 41st president, 77. George H.W. Bush’s pardons included former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger for his role in the Iran/Contra scandal, also an unpopular decision. Only Presidents William Henry Harrison (9th) and James Garfield (20th) did not issue pardons, because they didn’t live long enough in office.
Presidential pardons, according to one view in Texas Monthly magazine, “reflect the (Founding Fathers’) belief that government should show mercy.” These decisions typically create problems for the president, and many ask, why bother. Like many things in life, it’s about timing. President Bush’s pardons were issued Dec. 21, when much of the country was distracted by the holiday season; and few noticed.
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