Pardon: Difference between revisions

{{shortShort description|Forgiveness of a crime and cancellation ofby the relevant penaltygovernment}}

In Australia, the pardon power is referred to as the [[royal prerogative of mercy]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Prerogative of Mercy and statutory referrals |url=https://www.ag.gov.au/Crime/FederalOffenders/Pages/Royalprerogativeofmercyandreferralofmatterstostateandterritorycourts.aspx |website=Attorney General's Department |publisher=Government of Australia |access-date=30 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530192611/https://www.ag.gov.au/Crime/FederalOffenders/Pages/Royalprerogativeofmercyandreferralofmatterstostateandterritorycourts.aspx |archive-date=30 May 2019 |url-status=dead }}</ref> an executive power that is vested in the [[Monarchy of Australia|King]] and may be exercised by the [[Governor-General of Australia|Governorgovernor-Generalgeneral]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, Sec. 61 |url=http://www8.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/cth/consol_act/coaca430/s61.html |website=Commonwealth Consolidated Acts |publisher=Australian Legal Information Institute |access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref> The prerogative of mercy is a broad discretionary power that may be exercised by a state governor who is acting on the advice of the state executive council and the state attorney general.<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Prerogative of Mercy review |url=https://www.justice.nsw.gov.au/justicepolicy/Pages/lpclrd/lpclrd_consultation/royal-prerogative-mercy-review.aspx |website=Justice |publisher=New South Wales Government |access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref> Courts in Australia may also exercise their traditional power to exercise mercy when the circumstances of the defendant or offense warrant relief.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mercy |url=https://csd.njca.com.au/mercy/ |website=Commonwealth Sentencing Database |date=31 January 2013 |publisher=National Judicial College of Australia |access-date=30 May 2019}}</ref>

The [[Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] removes all information about the conviction for which an individual received the pardon from the [[Canadian Police Information Centre]] (CPIC). Federal agencies cannot give out information about the conviction without approval from the [[Minister of Public Safety|minister of public safety]].

In Canada, clemency is granted by the [[Governorgovernor Generalgeneral of Canada]] or the [[Governor in Council]] (the federal cabinet) under the [[royal prerogative of mercy]]. Applications are also made to the [[Parole Board of Canada|National Parole Board]], as in pardons, but clemency may involve the [[commutation (law)|commutation]] of a sentence, or the remission of all or part of the sentence, a [[respite (law)|respite]] from the sentence (for a [[medical condition]] or a [[relief]] from a prohibition, e.g., to allow someone to drive who has been prohibited from driving).

In [[Chile]], the institution of pardon (''indulto'') is regulated in the [[Criminal Code]] (article 93, Nº 4º),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.leychile.cl/Navegar/?idNorma=1984&idVersion=2010-03-18|title=Código penal|author=Ministry of Justice of Chile|publisher=Library of the National Congress of Chile|date=1874-11-12|access-date=2010-03-18|language=es}}</ref> which deals with the extinction of criminal liability. A pardon "only grants the remission or the commutation of the sentence; it does not remove the condition of having been condemned". The pardon may be either general, when it is granted to all those covered by a specific law passed by qualified quorum in [[National Congress of Chile|National Congress]], or particular, when it is granted by Supreme Decree of the [[President of Chile|Presidentpresident of the Republicrepublic]]. In Chile's presidential regime, the Presidentpresident is the [[Headhead of Statestate]]; in this capacity, the president has the discretionary power to grant particular pardons and is not obliged to seek opinion or approval from other authorities, although, the granting of pardons is limited by the norms of Law No. 18.050 (1981),<ref>

The [[Constitution of the People's Republic of China|1954 Constitution of China]] made provision for amnesties and pardons, both of which were to be powers of the [[Standing Committee of the National People's Congress]]. The amnesty or pardon would then be issued by the Presidentpresident. [[Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party|Chairman]] [[Mao Zedong]] &and [[President of the People's Republic of China|President]] [[Liu Shaoqi]] released the first-time pardon in 1959.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://duihua.org/dialogue-issue-34-1959-special-pardon-encouraged-prisoners-to-reform/|title=Dialogue – Issue 34: 1959 Special Pardon Encouraged Prisoners to Reform|website=duihua.org|date=29 January 2009 |access-date=2022-03-22}}</ref>

The later three constitutions promulgated in 1975, 1978, and 1982 all removed provision amnesty and only kept pardons. In China, pardons are decided by the National Standing Committee of the People's Congress and issued by the Presidentpresident.

On September 23, 2015, presidentPresident [[Abdel Fattah el-Sisi]] issued a pardon freeing 100 activists, including [[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]] journalists [[Mohamed Fahmy]] and [[Baher Mohamed]].<ref name="aljazeera.com">{{cite news |title=Al Jazeera journalists freed from Egypt prison |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/09/al-jazeera-journalists-pardoned-egypt-150923112113189.html |access-date=2019-10-09 |work=Al Jazeera |date=23 September 2015}}</ref>

Pardons and acts of clemency (''grâces'') are granted by the [[Presidentpresident of France]], who, ultimately, is the sole judge of the propriety of the measure. It is a prerogative of the Presidentpresident which is directly inherited from that of the Kingskings of France. The convicted person sends a request for pardon to the Presidentpresident of the Republicrepublic. The [[prosecutor]] of the court that pronounced the verdict reports on the case, and the case goes to the [[Justice Minister of France|Ministry of Justice]]'s directorate of criminal affairs and pardons for further consideration.

If granted, the [[decree]] of pardon is signed by the Presidentpresident, the [[Prime Minister of France|Primeprime Ministerminister]], the [[Minister of Justice (France)|Ministerminister of Justicejustice]], and possibly other ministers involved in the consideration of the case. It is not published in the ''[[Journal Officiel de la République Française|Journal Officiel]]''.

When the [[Capital punishment in France|death penalty]] was in force in France, all capital sentences resulted in a presidential review for a possible clemency. Executions were carried out if and only if the Presidentpresident rejected clemency, by signing a document on which it was written: "decides to let justice take its course".

Similar to the United States, the right to grant pardon in [[Germany]] is divided between the federal and the state level. Federal jurisdiction in matters of criminal law is mostly restricted to appeals against decisions of state courts. Only "political" crimes like [[treason]] or [[Terrorism in Germany|terrorism]] are tried on behalf of the [[Federal government of germany|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 [[Presidentpresident of Germany]], but the president can transfer this power to other persons, such as the chancellor or the minister of justice.

The [[Constitution of Greece]] grants the power of pardon to the [[President of Greece|Presidentpresident of the Republicrepublic]] (Art. 47, § 1). He/SheThe president can pardon, commute or remit punishment imposed by any court, on the proposal of the [[Ministry of Justice (Greece)|Ministerminister of Justicejustice]] and after receiving the opinion (not the consent necessarily) of the Pardon Committee.

Since the transfer, the [[Chiefchief Executiveexecutive 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 the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall exercise the following powers and functions&nbsp;... to pardon persons convicted of criminal offences or commute their penalties".

Under the [[Constitution of India]] (Article 72), the [[Presidentpresident of India]] can grant a pardon or [[Commutation of sentence|reduce]] the sentence of a convicted person, particularly in cases involving [[Capital punishment in India|capital punishment]]. A similar and parallel power vests in the [[Governors of India|governors of each state]] under Article 161.

The Constitution of India vests sovereign power in the president and governors. The governance in the centre and states is carried out in the name of the president and governor respectively. The president is empowered with the power to pardon under Article 72 of the Indian Constitution., Article 72which says that the president shall have the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence. The meaning of these terms is as follows:

The pardoning powers of the Indian Presidentpresident are elucidated in Art 72 of the Indian Constitution. There are five different types of pardoning which are mandated by law.

# Reprieve: a delay allowed in the execution of a sentence, usually a death sentence, for a guilty person to allow him some time to apply for a Presidentialpresidential Pardonpardon or any other legal remedy to prove his innocence or allow for successful rehabilitation.

Similarly, as per article 161:, Governorthe governor of a Statestate has the power to grant pardons, reprieves, respites or remissions of punishment or to suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence against any law relating to a matter to which the executive power of the state extends. PleaseThe note that Presidentpresident can grant a pardon to a person awarded death sentence.; Buthowever, athe governor of a state does not enjoy this power.

The question is whether this power to grant a pardon is absolute or this power of pardon shall be exercised by the Presidentpresident on the advice of the Council of Ministers. The pardoning power of the president is not absolute. It is governed by the advice of the Council of Ministers. This has not been discussed by the constitution but is the practical truth. Further, the constitution does not provide for any mechanism to question the legality of decisions of Presidentthe president or governors exercising mercy jurisdiction. ButNonetheless, the SC in the Epuru Sudhakar case has given a small window for judicial review of the pardon powers of Presidentthe president and governors for the purpose of ruling out any arbitrariness. The court has earlier held that court has retained the power of judicial review even on a matter which has been vested by the Constitution solely in the Executiveexecutive.

However, it is important to note that India has a unitary legal system and there is no separate body of state law. All crimes are crimes against the Union of India. Therefore, a convention has developed that the governor's powers are exercised for only minor offenses, while requests for pardons and reprieves for major offenses and offenses committed in the Unionunion Territoriesterritories are deferred to the Presidentpresident.

Both the Presidentpresident and Governorgovernor are bound by the advice of their respective Councils of Ministers and hence the exercise of this power is of an executive character. It is therefore subject to [[Judicialjudicial Reviewreview]] as held by the [[Supreme Court of India]] in the case of {{cite LIIofIndia|litigants=Maru Ram v. Union of India|link=Maru Ram v. Union of India|court=INSC|year=1980|num=213|parallelcite=1981 (1) SCC 107|courtname=[[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]]}}. It was subsequently confirmed by {{cite LIIofIndia|litigants=Kehar Singh v. Union of India|link=Maru Ram v Union of India|court=INSC|year=1988|num=370|parallelcite=1989(1) SCC 204|courtname=[[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]]}}. In the case of {{cite LIIofIndia|litigants=Epuru Sudhakar & Anr vs Govt. Of A.P. & Ors|link=Epuru Sudhakar v. Govt. Of A.P.|court=INSC|year=2006|num=638|courtname=[[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]]}}, it was held that "clemency is subject to [[judicial review]] and that it cannot be dispensed as a privilege or act of grace". The court made these observation while quashing the decision of then [[Governor of Andhra Pradesh]] [[Sushil Kumar Shinde]] in commuting the sentence of a convicted Congress activist.<ref name="Court Can Review Pardon: SC">{{cite news|title=Court Can Review Pardon: SC|url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2006-10-12/news/27458116_1_clemency-mohd-afzal-judicial-review|access-date=5 April 2013|newspaper=Economic Times|date=12 October 2006}}</ref>

The power of clemency is nominally exercised by the president. However, the [[Presidentpresident of Ireland]] must act "on the advice" of the [[Government of Ireland|Government]] (cabinet), so in practice the clemency decisions are made by the government of the day and the president has no discretion in the matter. The responsibility can also be delegated to people or bodies other than the president.

In the first procedure, aimed at miscarriages of justice, the Ministerminister for Justicejustice may recommend to the Government that they formally advise the Presidentpresident to grant a pardon, and any conditions along with it. The 1993 Criminal Procedure Act<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1993/act/40/enacted/en/ | title=Electronic Irish Statute Book (EISB) }}</ref> provides the method by which a person convicted of an offence may apply for a pardon. Under this procedure, the person must:

Section six of the act allows a [[Minister for Justice (Ireland)|Ministerminister for Justicejustice]] to seek or receive a pardon request from someone whose case is not a '[[miscarriage of justice]]', but has some other fault, such as an archaic law, a law being misapplied by a rogue judge, a reduction in the harshness of a sentence or a substitution of a sentence, without having to go through the procedure above, gone through appeals, or presented new facts. It also allows the minister to waive the procedure in a case of miscarriage of justice if the specific case warrants it. It may also allow prospective pardons as it allows the minister to pardon someone who has not been convicted yet, which the other procedure requires.

This special committee may look to any material it sees fit to make its decision, even if it was not, or would not be, available to a jury or trial judge in a normal court. The government do not have to be bound by the committee recommendations.

Under Section 7(5) of the act, the same powers of the Ministerminister for Justicejustice apply to the [[Minister for Defence (Ireland)|Ministerminister for Defencedefence]] in the case of military officers and enlisted convicted by courts martial.

The Ministerminister for Justicejustice or Defencedefence may also, in their absolute discretion, pay compensation, determined by them alone, to any person given a pardon, if this compensation is applied for. If they think the compensation is too low they may challenge for a higher figure in the High Court.

The power is used very infrequently compared to, for example, pardons in the United States.<ref>{{cite book |title=Murdoch's Dictionary of Irish Law |first=Henry |last=Murdoch |year=2000 |page=566 |publisher=Topaz Publications |edition=3rd |isbn=0-9514032-5-7}}</ref>

In [[Israel]] the [[President of Israel|Presidentpresident]] has the power to pardon criminals or commute their sentences. The Presidentpresident's pardon powers are set out in the [[Basic Laws of Israel]]. The pardon is given following a recommendation by the [[Justice Minister of Israel|Ministerminister of Justicejustice]].

In [[Italy]], the [[President of the Italian Republic|Presidentpresident of the Republicrepublic]] may "grant pardons, or commute punishments" according to article 87 of the [[Italian Constitution]]. Like other acts of the president, the pardon requires the countersignature of the competent government minister. The [[Constitutional Court of Italy]] has ruled that the [[Italian Minister of Justice|Ministerminister of Justicejustice]] is obliged to sign acts of pardon.<ref>{{cite web |title=Giudizio per Conflitto di Attribuzione Tra Poteri Dello Stato |trans-title=Judgement for Conflict of Attribution Between the Power of the State |language=it |url=http://www.cortecostituzionale.it/actionSchedaPronuncia.do?anno=2006&numero=200 |work=[[Constitutional Court of Italy]] |date=May 24, 2006 |access-date=July 22, 2017}}</ref>

According to article 79 of the Italian Constitution the Parliament may grant amnesty (article 151 c.p.) and pardon (article 174 c.p.) by law deliberated a majority of two-thirds of the components. The last general pardon, discounting 3three years from sentences, was approved in 2006.

** Approved –— 3,454

** Declined –— 384444

** Approved – 3,295 (theboth first termterms); 795 (the second term); total –— 4,090302

** Declined – 993 (theboth first termterms); 1,317 (the second term); total –— 2,310639

** Approved –— 201

** Declined –— 913

** Approved –— 219360

** Declined –— 1891544

In Portugal, the Headsheads of Statestate – [[List of Portuguese monarchs|Kingskings]] or [[President of Portugal|Presidentspresidents]] – have always enjoyed the prerogative of grace, being able to grant pardons, commuting or extinguishing sentences in the context of requests for clemency.

According to the [[Constitution of Portugal|Portuguese Constitution]],<ref>Article 134.º, paragraph f of the [[Constitution of Portugal]]</ref> the [[President of Portugal|Presidentpresident of the Portuguese Republic]] has the power to pardon and commute sentences, on the proposal of the [[Government of Portugal|Government of the Portuguese Republic]]. This is the exclusive and discretionary competence of the Presidentpresident and is not subject to any conditions beyond the prior hearing of the Government, generally represented by the [[Ministry of Justice (Portugal)|Ministerminister of Justicejustice]]. Requests or proposals for pardons are instructed by the Criminal Execution Court by referral from the [[Ministry of Justice (Portugal)|Ministry of Justice]] and subsequently submitted to the Presidentpresident for consideration. The pardon is granted by Presidentialpresidential Decreedecree; if the pardon is denied, the Presidentpresident decides by order. Traditionally pardons are granted during the Christmas period. The pardon can be revoked by the Presidentpresident of the Republicrepublic.

In 2019 the Presidentpresident granted two pardons.<ref>[https://www.dn.pt/poder/presidente-da-republica-concede-dois-indultos-por-razoes-humanitarias-11642068.html "Presidente da República concede dois indultos 'por razões humanitárias{{'}}"], 24 February 2020</ref>{{full citation needed|date=December 2020}}

The pardon, as an individual, shall not be confused with amnesty or generic forgiveness, both of a general and abstract nature. Amnesty has retroactive effects, affecting not only the penalty applied but the past criminal act itself, which is forgotten, considered as not practiced (retroactive abolition of crime). Generic forgiveness focuses only on the penalties determined by the sentencing decision and for the future. It is the reserved competence of the [[Assembly of the Republic (Portugal)|Portuguese ParliamnentParliament]] to approve generic amnesties and pardons.<ref>Article 161.º, paragraph f) of the [[Constitution of Portugal]]</ref>

The [[Presidentpresident of the Russian Federation]] is granted the right of pardon by Article 89 of the [[Constitution of the Russian Federation]]. The chain of pardon committees manage lists of people eligible for pardon and directs them to the Presidentpresident for signing. While President [[Boris Yeltsin]] frequently used his power of pardon (1998 – 7,000 to 8,000 cases), his successor [[Vladimir Putin]] is much more hesitant; he granted five pardons in 2014 and two in 2015.<ref>[https://meduza.io/feature/2016/05/31/ne-miloserdie-a-politicheskaya-igra Не милосердие, а политическая игра: Владимир Путин ежегодно отпускает из тюрем всего пару человек. Почему?] Meduza.io, 2016.05.31.</ref> In 2021, Vladimir Putin officially pardoned six convicted offenders.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Presidential Pardon |url=http://www.en.kremlin.ru/structure/president/authority/mercy# |website=President of Russia}}</ref>

A pardon can be requested at any time, although a one-year waiting period is required between requests.<ref name="ukaz">[http://base.garant.ru/12125251/ Указ Президента РФ от 28 декабря 2001 г. № 1500 «О комиссиях по вопросам помилования на территориях субъектов Российской Федерации»; «Положение о порядке рассмотрения ходатайств о помиловании в Российской Федерации»].</ref> This right is granted to citizens of the Russian Federation by Article 50 of the constitution.<ref name=":0" />

The prerogative of mercy is a form of pardon that can be exercised by the [[Presidentpresident of Rwanda]]. The prerogative is one of the powers of the president defined by the [[Constitution of Rwanda]], which came into effect in 2003 following a [[2003 Rwandan constitutional referendum|national referendum]].<ref>[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2003/23746.htm Rwanda] ''U.S. Department of State'' (accessed 2008-10-20)</ref> According to the Constitution of Rwanda, "The President of the Republic has authority to exercise the prerogative of mercy in accordance with the procedure determined by law and after consulting the [[Supreme Court of Rwanda|Supreme Court]] on the matter."<ref>[http://www.cjcr.gov.rw/eng/constitution_eng.doc Constitution of Rwanda] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325021301/http://www.cjcr.gov.rw/eng/constitution_eng.doc |date=2009-03-25 }} Article 111. ''Legal and Constitutional Commission of Rwanda'' (accessed 2008-10-20)</ref>

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

The ''derecho de gracia'' ("right of grace") or ''indulto'' ("pardon") is acknowledged by the [[Spanish Constitution of 1978]] as a privilege of the [[Kingking of Spain]] (article 62.i: "Functions of the King"). Spanish law defines it as a renunciation on the Statestate's part of its own punitive power on behalf of an individual, founded on reasons of equity or public interest. The Constitution subjects royal pardons to the law and forbids general pardons, so they have to be granted individually. Theoretically, a royal pardon can be granted for a general offense or accessory offenses alone; if it is granted for a general offense, the accessory ones it implies are also pardoned, with the exception of punishments involving political rights (i.e., removal of the right to run for a public office as a result of a sentence), which have to be explicitly mentioned in the pardon decree if they are going to be pardoned.

The procedure and requirements for the grant of the pardon are given by the Law of 18 June 1870, modified by the Law 1/1988 of 14 January. The application for royal pardon has to be carried out by the convicted person himself, his relatives or any other person in his name. The convicting court will then issue a report of the case, which shall be considered along with the public comments of the Prosecutorprosecutor and the victims of the crime if there were any. All of this is gathered by the [[Minister of Justice|minister of justice]], who will present the pardon issue to the Cabinet of Ministers. If the Cabinet decides a pardon should be granted, then the Ministerminister of Justicejustice will recommend as such to the Kingking. Pardons are issued by Royalroyal Decreedecree and have to be published in the {{Lang|es|Boletín Oficial del Estado}} ("Public Journal").

Pardons are not commonly conceded in Spain but for offenders convicted for minor crimes who are about to complete their sentence and have shown good behaviour and repentance. Dating back to medieval times, several organisations and religious brotherhoods still hold the right of granting pardons as part of some privilege or other granted to them by the Kingking of Spain. The scope of this privilege depends on the royal charter received by the organisation when their right to concede pardons was granted, though it usually holds only for minor offenses in very especial conditions; this right is implicitly acknowledged by the public offices nowadays, though it is not exercised but following the usual procedure for royal pardons. Traditionally, they will propose some petty criminal about to end his sentence for pardon being granted to him, and he/she will be released following the tradition to which the pardon holds, usually during the Holy Week. This type of pardons are distinguished from the usual ones in that they only release the prisoner from jail, halting the sentence, but do not pardon the offense itself.

In [[Sri Lanka]], under the [[Sri Lankan Constitution]] the [[President of Sri Lanka|Presidentpresident]] can grant a pardon, respite or substitute a less severe form of punishment for any punishment imposed to any offender convicted of any offence in any court within the Republic of Sri Lanka. It is generally referred to as a ''Presidentialpresidential pardon''.

In the [[United States]], the pardon power for offenses against the United States is granted to the [[Presidentpresident of the United States]] under [[Article Two of the United States Constitution#Clause 1: Command of military; Opinions of cabinet secretaries; Pardons|Article II, Section 2 of the United States Constitution]] which states that the Presidentpresident "shall have power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of [[impeachment]]". The [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] has interpreted this language to include the power to grant many different forms of clemency (generally less sweeping than a full pardon), including not only pardons, but also conditional pardons, commutations of sentence, conditional commutations of sentence, remissions of fines, forfeitures and other criminal financial penalties, [[Respite (law)|respites]] and reprieves, and [[Amnesty|amnesties]].<ref>{{cite journal | first=P. S. Jr. |last=Ruckman |year=1997 |title=Executive Clemency in the United States: Origins, Development, and Analysis (1900–1993) |volume=27 |journal=Presidential Studies Quarterly |issue=2 |pages=251–271 |jstor=27551729 }}</ref>

The pardon power of the Presidentpresident applies only to convictions under [[United States federal law|federal law]].<ref name="usdojpardon">{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/pardon/pardon-information-and-instructions |title=Pardon Information and Instructions |work=Office of the Pardon Attorney (USDOJ) |access-date=2014-05-20 }}</ref> Additionally, the power extends to military [[court-martial]] cases as well as convictions in the [[Superior Court of the District of Columbia]].<ref name="usdojpardon"/>

Almost all pardon petitions are addressed to the Presidentpresident, who grants or denies the request. In some cases, the Presidentpresident will, of their own accord, issue a pardon.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-issues-pardon-to-scooter-libby-former-chief-of-staff-to-vice-president-cheney/2018/04/13/dfa4039a-3f2d-11e8-8d53-eba0ed2371cc_story.html|title=Trump issues pardon to 'Scooter' Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=April 13, 2018}}</ref> Typically, applications for pardons are referred for review and non-binding recommendation by the [[Office of the Pardon Attorney]], an official of the [[United States Department of Justice]].

Nine states in the United States have [[Parole board|boards of pardons and paroles]] that exclusively grant all state pardons. These states are: [[Alabama]] (Board of Pardons and Paroles), [[Connecticut]] (Board of Pardons and Paroles), [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] ([[Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles|Board of Pardons and Paroles]]), [[Idaho]] (Commission of Pardons and Paroles), [[Minnesota]] ([[Minnesota Board of Pardons|Board of Pardons]]), [[Nebraska]] (Board of Pardons), [[Nevada]] (Board of Pardon Commissioners), [[South Carolina]] ([[South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services|Board of Probation, Parole and Pardon]]), and [[Utah]] ([[Utah Board of Pardons and ParolesParole]]).

** '''Remission''': Complete or partial cancellation of the penalty, whilst still being considered guilty of said crime (i.e., reduced penalty). (This should not be confused with what is known in USAthe United States as remission of [[Remand (court procedure)|remand]], in which a case is sent back to a lower court from which it was appealed, with instructions as to what further proceedings should be held.)

* '''[[Immunity from prosecution]]''': A [[prosecutor]] may grant immunity, usually to a [[witness]], in exchange for testimony or production of other evidence. The prosecutor (conditionally) agrees not to prosecute a crime that the witness might have committed in exchange for said evidence. For example, a car thief who witnesses a murder might be granted immunity for his crime as an inducement to identify, and perhaps to truthfully testify against the murderer. Some criminals who testify for the prosecution may be offered immunity from prosecution for their own crimes.<ref name=falcon>"[http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/16/justice/witness-protection-program Inside the witness protection program]", Gabriel Falcon, CNN, February 16, 2013.</ref>

[[Category:ClemencyPardon| ]]