In recent months, the US pardon system has come under scrutiny. The president is essentially given unrestricted authority under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the Constitution, which reads, “The President shall have the power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” The president typically exercises this authority in the final weeks of a term because the incumbent has been voted out or is about to retire. However, the president is normally aware of the contentious nature of unilaterally declaring that someone facing criminal charges should be freed. In any case, there are no issues with re-election. This is significant because victims frequently complain when the White House pen smacks a lengthy legal procedure into the background.
In his final days, President Joe Biden issued more commutations than any other chief executive in history. He commuted the sentences of 37 of the 40 prisoners who had been condemned in accordance with his Catholic faith, almost completing the sentence. However, he dissented the most when he preemptively pardoned other family members for alleged crimes against which they would most likely never have been tried in court. He annulled Hunter’s convictions before putting his sons on trial. Utilizing his constitutional authority for those close to him was all that was tinged with nepotism.
President Donald Trump followed him closely. Trump was acting as though he were already running out of time, as he did so many of his first 100 days of actions. Before granting 1, 600 pardons to those alleged to have been responsible for the Capitol’s frequently violent oath of office, he had hardly taken the oath of office. Sure enough, some people were offended by this, and the Capitol Police’s chief called it a “slap in the face” to all of his officers.
Trump has since continued on with his string of pardons. Some of his recent grants are predictable: 21 of them were related to the FACE (Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances), a law that forbids intimidation, and intimidation against people seeking or providing reproductive health services. In general, however, people picketing abortion clinics are frequently the subjects of his recent grants. He was pursuing MAGA’s anti-abortion rights wing in this instance.
Trump is “always pleased to give well-deserving Americans a second chance, especially those who have been unfairly targeted and excessively prosecuted by an unfair justice system,” according to Harrison Fields, a spokesman for the White House.
This is generally accepted as fair enough, but typically there must be some form of remorse and rehabilitation. In contrast, he pardoned Scott Jenkins, a long-time supporter and former Sheriff who was found guilty in 2024 of accepting more than $ 75, 000 in bribes in exchange for turning several businessmen into recognized law enforcement figures, this week. In a post on his Truth Social network, Trump wrote that “Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through hell.” Despite turning himself in before the US trial system, Et Jenkins had merely been dragged through the system like millions of others had.
The reality TV couple Todd and Julie Chrisley were found guilty in 2022 of defrauding banks of more than $ 36 million by submitting false bank statements and other records. It is unclear how they spent their unpaid money on travel and luxury cars.
Which brings us to the most recent case, that of Larry Hoover, the notorious leader of the Chicago Gangster Disciples, who was found guilty of ordering the murder of a rival and committed a long list of other crimes. Many cases were not even brought to trial by the prosecution. In fact, a judge reportedly asked one of Hoover’s attorneys, “How many other murders is he responsible for” at a hearing last year.
Trump’s federal sentence was commuted, which would have essentially required him to go to a less desirable Illinois prison, where he will have to serve a 200-year sentence for a state murder conviction. What was the president’s motivation behind doing this, and what did it accomplish?
According to CBS News, many of the recipients did not even submit a formal application, which is an especially odd feature of these pardons. Trump simply reached out and took charge. He occasionally appears to have relied on what he saw on television. He has stated that he is considering clemency for those who have been found guilty of the 2020 conspiracy to kidnap and overthrow the state government in Michigan. He claimed, “I did watch the trial.” It appeared to me to be a job in some way railroad.
I would not revoke the president’s right to mercy, even if it is still occasionally corrupt or arbitrarily exercised. I’m in favor of always taking into account second chances because we are too too harsh as a society. There should be some consistency, though, if people want to maintain any sense of respect for the judicial system.
Due process, in essence, implies that a procedure must be followed. Before Christmas, Biden dismissed her 76, 000 word clemency petition without addressing any of the allegations that she had been tortured in US custody, Aafia Siddiqui had been abducted by the CIA, or that she had been subjected to sexual abuse in prison today.
Then, this week, Clarence Smith, my octogenarian former client on death row, passed away in a federal prison. He had been denied compassionate release despite the fact that he was terminally ill, was patently innocent, and had established himself as a model prisoner. He had only received one disciplinary sanction while serving a forty-one year sentence for the heinous crime of making his prison bed before being ordered to do so.
Let’s examine how the president’s enormous power is being used (or misused), and perhaps even think about enforcing some transparency laws for him.
