Pardons we have known

P.S. Ruckman looks at reasons that have been given for pardons in the past.

Most of the time, presidents provide no justification whatsoever for clemency decisions, even “controversial” ones. But Bush explained that he thought Libby’s sentence was too severe and brought it back in line with recommendations made by the probation department. The clarity of his statement prompted swift response from Patrick Fitzgerald, who defended the sentence as being within a range established by “law.” Unfortunately that is about 1/4 of what any fair-minded person would want to know — the other 3/4 being that the “law” establishes “guidelines,” there were legitimate disputes about their interpretation and application and they were not binding

The government section of the public library must be a spooky place for those who find Bush’s explanation of the lowest-grade quality. In the Annual Report of the attorney general, one can see pardons have been granted because criminals were “reformed,” promised to reform, or because their release might cause others to reform. Pardons have been given to those who were insane, went insane in prison, and those who might have gone insane if put into prison. Pardons have also been granted so criminals could take care of someone else who went insane, was going insane or did not want to go insane. Benjamin Ogle (convicted of manslaughter) was pardoned by Abraham Lincoln, in part, because Ogle was “rather remarkable for his good-humored disposition.” Now, imagine if Bush had written that! Lincoln was also moved by John Lawson’s “reputation for honesty.” Lawson (alias John Lassano) had been convicted for passing counterfeit money. If you think Bush’s explanation was among the very poorest, you just don’t have a library card.