Laura L. Cooper - Author
Sign up for RSS feed
  • Home
  • Stories & Articles
  • Updates
  • Biography
  • Pursuit of Justice Blog
  • Missing Children

Pursuit of Justice Blog

"I think the first duty of society is justice."
--Alexander Hamilton

FACEBOOK AUTHOR PAGE

Turkeys and Pardons

11/21/2012

1 Comment

 
Picture
President Barack Obama pardoned the national Thanksgiving turkey(s) today. This ceremonial pardoning is a lighthearted event. The more serious constitutional role of granting clemency to people gives presidents a role in the judicial system. Presidents have varied in their application of the power to pardon. Some of their choices have run afoul of public opinion.

A full pardon officially removes all records of punishment and guilt, thereby restoring constitutional rights to formerly convicted felons. Presidents can act on any federal crimes, while lower-level offenses may be granted clemency at the state level, usually by governors. (USBlawg.com) The power has been used to help heal the nation. Other times it has been used for purely personal or political reasons.

According to Northern Public Radio, White House spokesman Matt Lehrich stated, "President Obama takes his constitutional power to grant clemency very seriously, and each recommendation received from the Department of Justice is carefully reviewed and evaluated on the merits." (Northernpublicradio.org)

Apparently most recommendations haven't measured up to Obama's standards. P.S. Ruckman Jr., a political scientist at Rock Valley College, reports the rate of pardons granted by the past five presidents (Northernpublicradio.org):

  • Ronald Reagan: 1 in 8
  • George H.W. Bush 1 in 19
  • Bill Clinton: 1 in 16
  • George W. Bush: 1 in 55
  • Barack Obama: 1 in 290

Why do our two most recent presidents appear so stingy? In part, the number of recommendations continues to grow. Also, many pardons are made at the end of a presidency, so we'll have to recheck Obama's rate at the end of his term in office. If you'd like to request clemency from the president, follow this link to the Department of Justice.

The king of last minute pardons was Bill Clinton. On his last day in office, he served up 140 pardons (USBlawg.com), some of which were highly controversial.

Of the presidential pardons, here are a few of the biggest turkeys, based on the level of public acceptance:

Like Andrew Johnson's pardon of all who had served on the side of the Confederacy during the Civil War, President Jimmy Carter wanted to help the nation mend. However, his pardon of those who had evaded the military draft during the Vietnam War was not as well received (About.com).

In another bid in the name of healing the nation, a highly controversial pardon was granted to former president Richard Nixon for anything he might have done or might be accused of having done during the years of the Watergate scandal (About.com).

Nixon issued questionable pardons of his own. He pardoned Jimmy Hoffa who had been convicted of jury tampering and fraud. Hoffa supported Nixon's re-election bid in 1972 and then disappeared in 1975 (Time.com).

Ronald Reagan also had a couple doozies. One went to George Steinbrenner, former Yankees owner who had plead guilty to obstructing justice and making illegal campaign contributions to Richard Nixon. Another went to Junior Johnson, an early NASCAR superstar, who had served a federal sentence for running moonshine (CNN.com).

President George H.W. Bush received criticism by some in 1992 when he pardoned former Secretary of State Caspar Weinberger and five other Reagan administration officials for their roles in the Iran-Contra Affair (About.com).

Bill Clinton's last-day pardons included one for his half-brother, Roger Clinton, who had been found guilty of cocaine distribution. Another was given to financier and tax-evader Marc Rich. This was noteworthy since Rich's ex-wife had donated to Clinton's presidential campaign and library (Discovery.com).

No wonder many pardons aren't made until the president is heading out of public office. Yet, no matter how much criticism a pardon receives, it will stand. A president's power to pardon goes unchecked by any other branch of government.

"It's conceivable that the Founding Fathers were not worried about giving one individual such absolute authority, as the U.S. Constitution as originally written specified only treason, piracy and counterfeiting as federal crimes. After more than 200 years of growth in the government, approximately 4,500 criminal offenses are under the jurisdiction of the federal government" (Investopdedia.com).

There have been many thousands of presidential pardons handed down, some for the good of the country and a sense of justice, some, it would appear, for the good of the pardoner and his partners. Since it is a U.S. holiday, maybe we should just grin at Obama's pardon of the Thanksgiving turkey.

Resources:

Clark, Josh, "How Presidential Pardons Work," Howstuffworks.com, (accessed 11-20-2012).
Discovery Channel, "Which Presidential Pardons have been Controversial?" Discovery.com, (accessed 11-21-2012).
Fox, Eric, "Notorious Presidential Pardons," Investopedia.com, 9-24-2012.
Gill, Kathy, "Controversial Presidential Pardons," About.com, 1-3-2009.
Institute of Government Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, "Presidential Pardons," NYTimes.com, (accessed 11-21-2012).
JRO, "Controversies in Pardons and Commutations of Sentences," USBlawg.com, 8-6-2012.
Shapiro, Ari, "Tough Turkey: People Have a Harder Time Getting Pardons Under Obama," Northernpublicradio.org, 11-20-2012.
Time Magazine, "Notorious Presidential Pardons," Time.com, (accessed 11-21-2012).
Trex, Thand, "11 Notable Presidential Pardons," CNN.com, 1-5-2009.





1 Comment

Salute: Freedom * Justice * Democracy

11/7/2012

2 Comments

 
Picture
Let's hope that in the post-election U.S., our Congress will find a way to do the work of the people, rather than the work of the parties or big-money donors. There is something wrong when politicians entrench themselves and essentially refuse to do the messy job of negotiating...that thing that legislators used to do for us. They need to respect their fellow members of Congress and the voters who sent them there.

"Words like freedom, justice and democracy are not common concepts; on the contrary, they are rare. People are not born knowing what these are. It takes enormous, and above all, individual effort to arrive at the respect for other people that these words imply."

--James Baldwin
Author & Civil Rights Activist

Muster any patriotic energy you have left after the elections and devote some to honoring our service members this Veterans Day. The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) suggests five ways to show our support:
  1. Fly the United States Flag
  2. Make Your Voice Heard Regarding Military Benefits
  3. Find Your Local VFW and Participate in Events
  4. Visit a VA Hospital
  5. Make a Donation

There are numerous charities sponsored by organizations such as the VFW and the American Legion. Examples include Help Heroes Call Home (VFW) and Operation Comfort Warriors (Legion).

Low on money? You could work with your family, school, or organization to generate cards for the Holiday Mail for Heroes program operated by the American Red Cross.

Holiday Mail for Heroes is a simple project that spreads cheer to service members at hospitals and installations around the world. Hurry and get them sent off by the first of December. Follow this link for the guidelines.

Please add your favorite charities or events in the comments. Find your own way to celebrate Veterans Day.

Thank you to all who serve or have served and their families!

  • Ways to Give Back to Veterans, Military.com
  • 2011 Veterans Day Ceremony - Arlington National Cemetery, Video, November 11, 2011
  • History of Veterans Day, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, November 10, 2009

2 Comments

    Author

    Laura Cooper lives in Nebraska and writes crime fiction and a wide range of short stories from her family farm.

    Categories

    All
    Capital Punishment
    Cisd
    Clemency
    Constitution
    Crime Prevention
    Crime Victims' Rights
    CSI
    Democracy
    Dna
    Domestic Violence
    Empower
    Evidence
    Fbi
    Fingerprints
    Freedom
    Half The Sky
    Hate Crimes
    Hostages
    Humor
    Jessica Ridgeway
    Justice
    Law Enforcement
    Liberty And Justice
    Lineups
    Mental Wellness
    Missing Persons
    Murder
    National Day Of Remembrance
    Nebraska
    NET
    Pardons
    PBS
    Public Safety
    RAINN
    RAINN Day
    Sentencing
    Sexual Assault
    Sexual Harassment
    Sexual Violence
    Shift Work
    Social Media
    Suicide
    Supreme Court
    Terrorism
    Thanksgiving
    Use Of Force
    Veterans Day
    Victim Impact Statement
    Victim Rights
    Women's Rights

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from DVIDSHUB, Abi Skipp, mrlaugh, MrCornfed, reborg, Luigi Rosa, carterse, 3 0 d a g a r m e d a n a l h u s, Matthew Wilkinson, leinadsimpson, Elvert Barnes, Mr.Thomas, Katie@!, Justin A. Wilcox, abraham.williams, Sue Waters, DonkeyHotey, Demon Brigade, srqpix, steakpinball, quatar, Ariane Middel, emily snuffer, Kátia :), midiman, Mr.Thomas, Mikey Angels, blvesboy, A Gude, Holding Steady, auntjojo, folkstone42, conner395, danesparza, USAG-Humphreys, Newtown grafitti, ewan traveler, mou-ikkai