With due respect to John's well written comment,it must be realized that O has not and does not intend to pardon big time drug offenders who pose a serious threat to society, but to those convicted of "infractions,"victims of Rockefeller's draconian legislation, just one example. Have served time on 3 different continents for offenses ranging from drunk driving in the Peninsula, in Jidda, to not renewing visa in France. Can assure readers there is nothing worse than losing your freedom, even for a short period.Have also interviewed those condemned to "prision perpetua" in Argentina as well as OAS "criminels de guerre" in Fresnes. Finally, was among the first to interview Lori Berenson in max. sec in Callamarca in PERU. If crime was committed without hate and without violence, person or persons should be pardoned. It is important to make the distinction.
Leonard Peltier has been in federal prison 4 years. His extradition was illegal; the trial was a kangaroo court replete with falsified evidence and falsified testimony. Many of the participants have since recanted, including an FBI agent who testified.
Further, after 30 years, Leonard was entitled to release. Now in 70s and in poor health, having been denied appropriate treatment several times, he is hardly a danger to anyone, if he ever was. All he wants is to go home and spend his remaining time with his family.
Leonard is a political prisoner in 21st century America.
Further, after 30 years, Leonard was entitled to release. Now in 70s and in poor health, having been denied appropriate treatment several times, he is hardly a danger to anyone, if he ever was. All he wants is to go home and spend his remaining time with his family.
Leonard is a political prisoner in 21st century America.
26
The article is very intriguing.
1
I hope Trump understands that criminal justice reform legislation is expected of him within the next couple of years.
1
"On Mr. Obama’s first Inauguration Day, in 2009, President George W. Bush gave him a good piece of advice: Pick a pardon policy and stick with it. "
It seems to me that he has done just that. His policy is to be very sparing on pardons, he has stuck to it, and I recommend that he continue to do so.
Unless there is evidence that the conviction was wrongful, not on technical grounds but on the basis of innocence, there is no real reason for a pardon.
The individual in question committed a criminal act, he was convicted in open court, and served his sentence. Actions, like elections, have consequences; and if one does not want the stigma of being a convicted felon one should not commit a felony.
It seems to me that he has done just that. His policy is to be very sparing on pardons, he has stuck to it, and I recommend that he continue to do so.
Unless there is evidence that the conviction was wrongful, not on technical grounds but on the basis of innocence, there is no real reason for a pardon.
The individual in question committed a criminal act, he was convicted in open court, and served his sentence. Actions, like elections, have consequences; and if one does not want the stigma of being a convicted felon one should not commit a felony.
2
Pardon Chelsea Manningand commute her sentence. Her fault was in having too much compassion and feeling shock over war crimes and what they do to the human spirit. Now she has suffered torture and isolation for years. so whatever you think of her--she has paid greatly.
8
No to the pardon of any of the high profile names mentioned: Snowden, Bergdahl, Manning, Peletier or preventatively Assange. But while you are at it, how about throwing in Mumia, whom we all know is totally innocent, and the escaped murderer Joanne Chesimard who lives freely in Cuba and seems to be immune from any attempt to demand her extradition. Might as well just pardon her also.
Please pardon as many as you can My President this week.
Please be assured that DJT & his FBI minions will fill all seats in our private jails and more..
Help as many as you can before you go.
Please be assured that DJT & his FBI minions will fill all seats in our private jails and more..
Help as many as you can before you go.
5
Any possibility of Donald Trump learning anything from anyone is a forlorn hope.
13
I'm still waiting for a POTUS who has a viable system in place for weighing pardon petitions. It always seems to be done so haphazardly and last minute. There should be a regular body in place - doesn't have to be huge - that year round and year after year reviews such applications. The POTUS has the power to make the procedures make sense.
4
"Perhaps President-elect Donald Trump will learn from Mr. Obama’s failure to heed that wisdom."
Right?
Right?
3
I agree that is highly unlikely....
1
The drug war was a political attack on blacks and anti war protesters.
Pardon all non violent drug offenders.
Pardon all non violent drug offenders.
20
Dear President Obama,
You have forged a legacy of peace in Colombia. As a final act, please consider pardoning Simon Trinidad, a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Trinidad was extradited to the US in 2004 and sentenced for "conspiracy to kidnap" 3 American contractors working for the CIA in Colombia.
Trinidad, a former economics professor, was the FARC's negotiator in a proposed prisoner exchange with the Colombian government that included the 3 Americans.
As negotiator, Trinidad traveled to Ecuador to meet with James LeMoyne, the UN special representative for the Colombian peace process. There he was captured, returned to Colombia and extradited to the US.
Over the course of 4 trials (3 ending in hung juries), prosecutors could not prove the charge of kidnapping. In the last trial, the jury accepted the prosecution's claims that as the negotiator, Trinidad was part of a "conspiracy to kidnap." He was sentenced to 60 years.
Whatever the merits of applying criminal law to wartime negotiations, Colombia has now negotiated a peace agreement with the FARC with the decisive help of the US.
Mr. President, we urge you to heed the Colombian government's request to return Trinidad to Colombia.
You have two options: Pardon or repatriate. In Colombia, if Trinidad is found to have committed war crimes, he will face justice pursuant to the Peace Accord.
This action will help consolidate peace and will help secure your legacy in Latin America.
You have forged a legacy of peace in Colombia. As a final act, please consider pardoning Simon Trinidad, a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Trinidad was extradited to the US in 2004 and sentenced for "conspiracy to kidnap" 3 American contractors working for the CIA in Colombia.
Trinidad, a former economics professor, was the FARC's negotiator in a proposed prisoner exchange with the Colombian government that included the 3 Americans.
As negotiator, Trinidad traveled to Ecuador to meet with James LeMoyne, the UN special representative for the Colombian peace process. There he was captured, returned to Colombia and extradited to the US.
Over the course of 4 trials (3 ending in hung juries), prosecutors could not prove the charge of kidnapping. In the last trial, the jury accepted the prosecution's claims that as the negotiator, Trinidad was part of a "conspiracy to kidnap." He was sentenced to 60 years.
Whatever the merits of applying criminal law to wartime negotiations, Colombia has now negotiated a peace agreement with the FARC with the decisive help of the US.
Mr. President, we urge you to heed the Colombian government's request to return Trinidad to Colombia.
You have two options: Pardon or repatriate. In Colombia, if Trinidad is found to have committed war crimes, he will face justice pursuant to the Peace Accord.
This action will help consolidate peace and will help secure your legacy in Latin America.
3
There is no doubt a connection between our over-crowded prisons and our under-educated, voting populace. The latter effects both crime and law/law enforcement. I had hoped the Obama then Clinton administrations would bring in an era of more intelligent prison reform. But instead we're getting Trump with his capacity to grow more fear and hate. I agree with the editorial; Obama should pardon those who deserve it while there is a chance. He must be able to see what lies ahead, and even if he doesn't have a presidential duty to pardon, doesn't he an ethical one?
3
Mr. President Obama: More than others, you understand the power of courage and dreams. Please consider those prisoners of conscience that you could pardon. We face an uncertain future and need the voices of those that have been willing to pay the price to fight for what they believe is right, whether we agree with them or not. Our world needs more than ever their examples. Some, like Oscar Lopez Rivera, have spent decades in prison. For Puerto Ricans, he is a voice as strong as Mandela was for South Africa. His release will help underscore the common grounds we share for human rights. Others, young and old, are deserving as well of a pardon. Whistleblowers are always needed, even in the strongest democracies. Please, in these dark times, when black lists and reprisals for free expression in public forums such as Tweeter could become the norm, you can set an example of true acceptance of diverse ideas. Your pardons would become a beacon of hope to guide us through the immediate future and for generations to come.
3
What amazes me is that a person who has paid their debt to society for a crime they comitted may be released back into society from the prison they served their sentence but in so many cases are punished for the rest of their lives in numerous ways and means and as such are neither forgiven nor is punishment ever stopped for what they did, so many years ago.
In effect in so many States, if you are convicted of a crime and serve jail time you may be "released", but will always end up with a life sentence!
The terms of this "life sentence" include notifications on Job applications, not being able to vote, not able to receive welfare or government help/benefits, not able to stay/live with family if they are in public housing, prohibited from owning a gun, travel restrictions , and many more , not to mention judgement, assumptions, prejudice and discrimination.
For so many Americans, any criminal conviction means in so many cases , punishment does not end for "that" crime until a person leaves this mortal coil.
A very harsh reality and life for many who may have made just one mistake long ago but which America will not, does not or seems ever willing to forget or forgive many for.
It seems to me that ironically, Justice is not done or given to the person who Justice first met and dispensed itself upon to those unfortunates years back, for the first time.
It suggests American Justice too easily and too often holds a grudge...for life.
Forgiveness is often sadly lacking.
In effect in so many States, if you are convicted of a crime and serve jail time you may be "released", but will always end up with a life sentence!
The terms of this "life sentence" include notifications on Job applications, not being able to vote, not able to receive welfare or government help/benefits, not able to stay/live with family if they are in public housing, prohibited from owning a gun, travel restrictions , and many more , not to mention judgement, assumptions, prejudice and discrimination.
For so many Americans, any criminal conviction means in so many cases , punishment does not end for "that" crime until a person leaves this mortal coil.
A very harsh reality and life for many who may have made just one mistake long ago but which America will not, does not or seems ever willing to forget or forgive many for.
It seems to me that ironically, Justice is not done or given to the person who Justice first met and dispensed itself upon to those unfortunates years back, for the first time.
It suggests American Justice too easily and too often holds a grudge...for life.
Forgiveness is often sadly lacking.
10
On this cultivated subject of pardon,
the heed to pardon Chelsea Manning needs no validation from the president, but the act of pardoning her can stand out on his record, ambiguous to many around the world as well as in the U.S.A.
Julian Assagne is offering his own blessing by saying that, in the event, he will allow himself to be extradited to the U.S.A. to defend and explain his own actions in open court, this surely a goal of those seeking justice around the world and in the U.S.A.
Equally thought provoking is the possibility that the President to be, Trump, may, on consideration, take it upon himself to pardon Manning by executive order or such, highlighting in retrospect his graciousness and Obama's refusal to shine.
the heed to pardon Chelsea Manning needs no validation from the president, but the act of pardoning her can stand out on his record, ambiguous to many around the world as well as in the U.S.A.
Julian Assagne is offering his own blessing by saying that, in the event, he will allow himself to be extradited to the U.S.A. to defend and explain his own actions in open court, this surely a goal of those seeking justice around the world and in the U.S.A.
Equally thought provoking is the possibility that the President to be, Trump, may, on consideration, take it upon himself to pardon Manning by executive order or such, highlighting in retrospect his graciousness and Obama's refusal to shine.
1
Obama absolutely must pardon Hillary for any possible crimes through the date of the pardon. Trump is manic, power-crazy, and almost certainly has early onset Alzheimer's meaning even Trump has no idea whatsoever he might do about Hillary the next afternoon, much less for the next 4 or, God forbid, 8 years. Obama should end the deportation suspense by pardoning all unlawfully in the U.S. of any illegality based on that status.
6
President Obama should pardon Chelsea Manning, whose very life seems to be at stake in the military prison where she has repeatedly attempted suicide. Entering the military to escape a history of abandonment and abuse, Bradley Manning was vulnerable to being manipulated by WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who he apparently worshipped and put on the map. He was also played by a computer hacker turned government cooperator who encouraged him to share classified information.
She has taken responsibility for her choices and served hard time under harsh scrutiny, and sometimes under conditions of solitary confinement. Pardoning her would be the kind of hard political choice that would show a willingness to look past politics to show compassion for a young person who made bad choices but should be allowed to recover from those choices and live her life.
What better criteria for a second chance than a case where partisan politics makes the presidential pardon the only chance.
She has taken responsibility for her choices and served hard time under harsh scrutiny, and sometimes under conditions of solitary confinement. Pardoning her would be the kind of hard political choice that would show a willingness to look past politics to show compassion for a young person who made bad choices but should be allowed to recover from those choices and live her life.
What better criteria for a second chance than a case where partisan politics makes the presidential pardon the only chance.
11
President Obama, please only pardon Chelsea Manning if you are willing to have her live in your Washington DC mansion.
2
"Last month, Mr. Obama issued Mr. Udin a pardon — one of just 148 pardons the president has granted during his two terms in office. It is an abysmally low number for a president who has stressed his commitment to second chances and the importance of helping convicted people re-enter society."
I have never been a fan of President Obama nor of Rod Blagojevich (the most recent disgraced governor of Illinois). However, regardless of one's politics, Mr. Blagojevich truly received an extremely harsh and raw sentence for the crimes he was convicted of coupled with the fact that he is serving his prison sentence in Colorado instead of Illinois, which makes for an extreme hardship on his family. The pardoning of Mr. Blagojevich is the one single act President Obama could make which would signify his sincere act of compassion. However, I also realize that neither man has any use for the other. That said, I cognitively understand the President's decision to do nothing. However, the older I get, the less harsh I become in my opinions and more open and forgiving of those who I believe have paid the price. There are convicted killers who have served less time than this man. His life is already ruined by his own means. Why not show some compassion at the 11th hour?
7
Yes, that's it! All we need is a commission. We aren't anywhere near the maximum permissible number of bureaucrats in the Federal Government. I say we need about 20 commissioners serving on a rotating basis, each with about 100 staff people (unemployed attorneys take note). That should require at least 500,000 square feet of space just in downtown Washington alone, and millions more in the 50 states (real estate developers and other rent seekers take note). Why didn't we think of this before? We could make a line item in the Labor Department's budget and call it "Jobs Program."
2
Among the thousands that deserve pardons are the Cuban five, Gerardo Hernández, Antonio Guerrero, Ramón Labañino, Fernando González, and René González. And it is time to set Chelsea Manning free and allow Edward Snowden to return without the threat of a lifetime prison sentence under the Espionage Act.
13
Manning free, it is absurd that she was allowed a sex change, what she did was treason. Snowden should be treated like any other terrorist,
4
Snowden and Manning need to be #1 and #2 on the list.
31
President Obama should listen to the Editorial Board's advice, but he won't. At any rate, I'm grateful you spoke out on this important topic. Thank you.
13
From the We the People petition:
"President Obama, Throughout your presidential term, the people of Puerto Rico, our politicians, political parties, media, celebrities, teachers, writers, journalists, workers, have united behind one common cause: the freedom of Oscar López Rivera. Rivera has been imprisoned for more than 34 years, many of those years in solitary confinement. Whatever your stance into his wrongdoing, we can safely conclude he has done his time. He does not pose a threat, and he deserves to be home with his family to live in peace the rest of his years.
Please, President Obama, do what is right and release Oscar López Rivera before your term ends. With the election results, now more than ever, we need you to hear the voice and plead of the Puerto Rican people."
"President Obama, Throughout your presidential term, the people of Puerto Rico, our politicians, political parties, media, celebrities, teachers, writers, journalists, workers, have united behind one common cause: the freedom of Oscar López Rivera. Rivera has been imprisoned for more than 34 years, many of those years in solitary confinement. Whatever your stance into his wrongdoing, we can safely conclude he has done his time. He does not pose a threat, and he deserves to be home with his family to live in peace the rest of his years.
Please, President Obama, do what is right and release Oscar López Rivera before your term ends. With the election results, now more than ever, we need you to hear the voice and plead of the Puerto Rican people."
18
President Obama, Oscar Lopez Rivera has served 34 years....declined a pardon offered some years ago, in exchange for the release of two other Puerto Rican..
serving time for the same conviction....We Pray that this time he Accepts your Kindness, for he has given his kindness to others.....
serving time for the same conviction....We Pray that this time he Accepts your Kindness, for he has given his kindness to others.....
2
"when President Obama visited Pittsburgh in 2009, Mr. Udin wasn’t allowed to meet him: His criminal record prevented such an encounter."
No such standards for Trump: "Trump Rang in the New Year With Mob-Affiliated Convicted Felon Known as Joey No Socks". Obama may have been much too reserved with pardons; Trump may be incontinent with them.
No such standards for Trump: "Trump Rang in the New Year With Mob-Affiliated Convicted Felon Known as Joey No Socks". Obama may have been much too reserved with pardons; Trump may be incontinent with them.
5
Edward Snowden should be pardoned. He has shed a ray of light into the secretive and sometimes suspect actions of the national security apparatus. Once Trump gets in he will undoubtedly seek his 'friend' Putin's help to have Snowden returned to the US.
Snowden will be Trump's Osama Bin Laden and the republicans will dance in the streets!!
Snowden will be Trump's Osama Bin Laden and the republicans will dance in the streets!!
12
Bring Edward Snowden home.
Free Leonard Peltier and Chelsea Manning. They deserve a pardon and our country deserves to be one that recognizes how much we have to learn from them.
Free Leonard Peltier and Chelsea Manning. They deserve a pardon and our country deserves to be one that recognizes how much we have to learn from them.
18
@Aravinda - What makes you think that Snowden wants to come home? You will recall that Snowden's father went to visit him (although the Russians would not let his father visit or know where he is located). His father insists his son is happy where he is, has acclimated to Russia and has no intentions to return. In fact, his father said that he, himself, could be happy living in Russia because it's "so modern and sophisticated".
1
It's too late for Leonard Peltier, since he died in prison, but it would be wonderful for those of us who sought this for years!
1
Thanks for including Peltier.
He better give one to Hillary, just in case Fredo decides he wants to prosecute her after all.
8
How about pardoning all non-violent drug offenders and ending this useless war on drugs.
22
Dear President Obama -
Please pardon Bowe Bergdahl before you leave office. While I do not believe that he is blameless, his military prosecution has taken on the character of a witch hunt. Moreover, it is highly doubtful that he could receive anything resembling a fair trial with Donald Trump as president. The five years that he was held in captivity under constant torture and starvation and fear seem like punishment enough. Please pardon Sgt. Bergdahl and allow him to get on with his life.
Please pardon Bowe Bergdahl before you leave office. While I do not believe that he is blameless, his military prosecution has taken on the character of a witch hunt. Moreover, it is highly doubtful that he could receive anything resembling a fair trial with Donald Trump as president. The five years that he was held in captivity under constant torture and starvation and fear seem like punishment enough. Please pardon Sgt. Bergdahl and allow him to get on with his life.
15
A large number of the lifetime sentences for a drug offence are the result of a plea bargain down from a more serious crime.
Don't jump to conclusions when presented with what on first glance seem and unfair penalty.
Don't jump to conclusions when presented with what on first glance seem and unfair penalty.
13
Your analysis should factor in that prosecutors often over-charge, so an indictment presents a more serious charge than is warranted by the evidence, giving serious leverage to the state. Neither plea bargains or prosecutors are as generous you believe them to be.
1
That's not really how nonviolent people get life sentences. They are the ones who did not take a plea and went to trial.
Those who take a plea do not get life sentences, they testify at the trial of others. It's quite true that Prosecutors who make the plea agreements are the ones who decide that the most culpable are released.
Those who take a plea do not get life sentences, they testify at the trial of others. It's quite true that Prosecutors who make the plea agreements are the ones who decide that the most culpable are released.
2
If they were convicted of a non violent crime, they shouldn't be in jail for life.
Funny how the NYT is so anti gun but, when it suits them, carrying an illegal shotgun is portrayed as "justified" because it was "needed for protection". Hmm, same argument pro gun people make and it is completely dismissed as unreasonable. Anyway, 3600 pardon requests. It's a full time job doing that much case review and learning the law well enough to be qualified to make the decision. Being the president would be a side job. The presidential pardon was never meant to address a workload of that magnitude.
3
Obama managed to ensure marijuana remains Schedule I so there will be many pardon opportunities for future Presidents.
7
There is no better case for clemency than Oscar Lopez Rivera, a political prisoner from Puerto Rico's independence movement who has already done more than 3 decades of prison. He poses no threat, has redeemed himself many times over with his prison work teaching other prisoners, and who serves as the clearest and most embarrassing example of American imperial rule in America. Oscar liberation is supported by ALL major parties in Puerto Rico (about the ONLY thing we all agree on), the Pope, OAS, all peace prize winners from Latin America, and over 300,000 puertoricans who have signed various petitions. Obama should commute his sentenced today.
8
There is so much information (118 years) regarding the practices of invasion, oppression, blacklisting, ilegal experimentation/exploitation, torture, and assasinations, on behalf of "Deep State" against Puerto Rico's land and people, that the American public is not remotely aware of.
Free Oscar López Rivera, today.
Free Oscar López Rivera, today.
2
Prosecutors all over America at all levels protect themselves and their colleagues for bad decision that they make. It is shameful and one of the most egregious parts of our criminal justice system. It is sad to see that President Obama is allowing this practice to keep good people from getting pardons.
5
Does the Times expect pardons to be issued by the pound or the gross?
Why are Democrats so concerned about convicted drug dealers and felons? What is it about this issue that drives Democrats over the edge? The prisons have drug dealers in them not someone who got caught with a joint. Can Mr. Obama and the Times repair the pain, suffering, disruption and death caused by drug dealers and felons to individuals, families and communities? We have see countless Democrat and Hollywood led campaigns over the decades to free cop killers, bombers and violent radicals. This is a key issue that shows dramatically the difference between liberal Democrats and the much larger nation.
Why are Democrats so concerned about convicted drug dealers and felons? What is it about this issue that drives Democrats over the edge? The prisons have drug dealers in them not someone who got caught with a joint. Can Mr. Obama and the Times repair the pain, suffering, disruption and death caused by drug dealers and felons to individuals, families and communities? We have see countless Democrat and Hollywood led campaigns over the decades to free cop killers, bombers and violent radicals. This is a key issue that shows dramatically the difference between liberal Democrats and the much larger nation.
6
How about the drug dealers who are peddling Fentanyl and countless other opiates into the same communities? Justice will probably not be coming soon for those, ahem, drug dealers.
A scolding from the Times Editorial Board about the number of pardons President Obama's has issued just three days before the inauguration is offensive, and way too late to do any good. If the writer of the opinion felt so strongly about the number of pardons that the President has issued, it would have been far more useful to write about the situation months ago.
12
President Obama, whom I voted for twice, has always lacked fortitude. His failure to be assertive with the 'pardon pen' is just another example of this character trait.
8
This article is about pardons. Most of the comments are about commutations or clemency.There is a difference folks. Read the article.
That being said. The devil is in the details. The NYTs brings up one clear example and then somehow conflates that to a large group. It s difficult to get on board with that kind of argument.
That being said. The devil is in the details. The NYTs brings up one clear example and then somehow conflates that to a large group. It s difficult to get on board with that kind of argument.
11
This and many other policies (e.g. drone use) show that Obama is no progressive.
8
True. And that's why he won election twice. Progressives do not have the votes to get a President elected in our current system. And they haven't, for a long time.
10
Progressives are a tiny minority in the US and are unelectable nationally.
2
One of the mysteries of Obama is that hew has never been much of a civil libertarian. He's also very risk averse. The combination is a tragedy -- one of the many disappointments of his presidency. If the pardon "process" is flawed, he had the power to fix it long ago. He just didn't care enough.
11
Overcrowded prisons, a stressed criminal justice system and poorly written three strike laws are NOT reasons a President should be granting pardons. These are separate issues yet they are consistently highlighted when President Obama's "miserable" pardon record is discussed.
This is not a numbers game. Simply because there are 2.2 convicted criminals in prison, there must be more than 1324 pardons???
I applaud President Obama's philosophy of pardoning those who deserve such treatment. The number of people in our prisons should have nothing to do with the number of pardons granted.
This is not a numbers game. Simply because there are 2.2 convicted criminals in prison, there must be more than 1324 pardons???
I applaud President Obama's philosophy of pardoning those who deserve such treatment. The number of people in our prisons should have nothing to do with the number of pardons granted.
4
There wouldn't be a need for pardons if congress did its job and eliminated the criminalization of normal and common behaviors which forces taxpayers to spend billions of dollars to hold nonviolent "offenders" in expensive cages.
7
The single most powerful act that President Obama could deliver at this point in his presidency is to commute Dylan Roof’s sentence to life in prison.
Because his guilt is certain this would not be a case of quibbling with the “process”. Rather, commutation would let him demonstrate that mercy is possible. As our first black American President, commuting the sentence of a white man guilty of killing black worshipers in a church would show us that mercy is possible in even the most extreme cases. Coming from President Obama, this action would be extraordinarily powerful.
Commutation would also let President Obama argue that Dylan Roof is not a demented rogue individual, but rather a predictable result of the ignorance and weakness that we and our leaders tolerate and tacitly foster. There is no better way to end the Obama Presidency then with such a strong indictment of these sad elements of our society.
Commuting this young man’s sentence would shock many and I would also expect a gale of derision and fake indignation, but, the high road is rarely the easy one. Rather, commuting Dylan Roof’s sentence to life in prison would be extraordinarily difficult, but I believe it would also be the right thing to do.
Because his guilt is certain this would not be a case of quibbling with the “process”. Rather, commutation would let him demonstrate that mercy is possible. As our first black American President, commuting the sentence of a white man guilty of killing black worshipers in a church would show us that mercy is possible in even the most extreme cases. Coming from President Obama, this action would be extraordinarily powerful.
Commutation would also let President Obama argue that Dylan Roof is not a demented rogue individual, but rather a predictable result of the ignorance and weakness that we and our leaders tolerate and tacitly foster. There is no better way to end the Obama Presidency then with such a strong indictment of these sad elements of our society.
Commuting this young man’s sentence would shock many and I would also expect a gale of derision and fake indignation, but, the high road is rarely the easy one. Rather, commuting Dylan Roof’s sentence to life in prison would be extraordinarily difficult, but I believe it would also be the right thing to do.
1
And you can pay the millions it would cost over Roof's lifetime to keep him incarcerated. This was pre-planned, cold blooded murder, for which the perpetrator has exhibited zero remorse. I have seldom been a proponent of capital punishment, but I resent the suggestion that I should support this mass murderer for the rest of his life.
But Mr. Roof is a demented rogue individual. Do you really believe he is ordinary?
Mr. President, while you have your pardon pen out, please be sure to write one for Hillary Clinton. No, she hasn't been convicted of any crimes, but not for lack of trying from the right. You can't believe what President-elect Trump says about not going after her once in office, especially when he tweeted recently that she is "guilty as hell". And Jason Chaffetz has been making noises that her email investigations aren't over quite yet. It would do the country some good to put the witch hunts of Hillary in the past. Ensure that the Republicans have no chance of ever convicting her of crimes related to her emails or to the Clinton Foundation while she was Secretary of State. End the insanity of the right, at least in this one case. They'll squawk about it, certainly. But that will fade as the new President gets deeper and deeper into his own scandals.
2
Significant among the cases that could have been pardoned is the one involving former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.
Mr. Kilpatrick is the son of former Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick who served for twelve years with distinction in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mr. Kilpatrick’s conviction on 24 federal counts was the culmination of a series of circumstance deeply rooted in n Detroit stemming from Detroit’s role in the Underground Railroad and riots caused by the media’s opposition to Black soldiers fighting for the Union during the Civil War.
Turned downed by the Court of Appeals, his case was considered for review by the U.S. Supreme Court based on Justice Scalia’s interpretation of the Sixth Amendment—a right violated during his federal trial.
Between the court’s decision to review Mr. Kirkpatrick's submission and their decision not to consider, Justice Scalia died and Kilpatrick’s case was dismissed without comment by the eight member court.
There were so many questionable rulings leading up to Mr. Kirkpatrick's federal trial involving lawyer misconduct that even a second-year law student could have overcome.
Mr. Kirkpatrick deserves to be released.
Mr. Kilpatrick is the son of former Congresswoman Carolyn Kilpatrick who served for twelve years with distinction in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mr. Kilpatrick’s conviction on 24 federal counts was the culmination of a series of circumstance deeply rooted in n Detroit stemming from Detroit’s role in the Underground Railroad and riots caused by the media’s opposition to Black soldiers fighting for the Union during the Civil War.
Turned downed by the Court of Appeals, his case was considered for review by the U.S. Supreme Court based on Justice Scalia’s interpretation of the Sixth Amendment—a right violated during his federal trial.
Between the court’s decision to review Mr. Kirkpatrick's submission and their decision not to consider, Justice Scalia died and Kilpatrick’s case was dismissed without comment by the eight member court.
There were so many questionable rulings leading up to Mr. Kirkpatrick's federal trial involving lawyer misconduct that even a second-year law student could have overcome.
Mr. Kirkpatrick deserves to be released.
You've got to be kidding! Kawme Kilpatrick was a big-headed fool who abused his office and stole from the citizens of Detroit and the state of Michigan. He was a corrupt politician who corrupted others. He does not deserve to be pardoned or pitied. He choose his own fate with his own thuggish behavior.
2
The list of people the outgoing president should pardon is long and hopefully by using the pardon pen he manages to restore a little of his self tattered legacy. On his last day in office he could still to do THOUSANDS more pardons and acts of clemency. In particular, he should pardon Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange and especially political prisoner Leonard Peltier.
Don Siegelman would be high on my list also.
But unfortunately Obama only cares for his legacy now, not for justice, so I won’t be holding my breath waiting for him to do the right thing.
Obama’s “clemency” and his supposed interest in reforming America’s for-profit prison system is a transparent and half hearted PR exercise and a poor attempt to redeem a legacy that looks more like George Bush’s third and fourth terms than anything like the hope and change promised in the 2008/2012 presidential campaigns.
The prison/justice system is broken because it’s profitable. At an estimated turnover of $74 billion per annum, it eclipses the GDP of 133 nations. It’s profitable for the police departments, the for-profit prisons, for counties, for states and for thousands of secondary businesses many of whom employ prisoners in shoddy and unsafe working conditions, paying them a disgraceful 25 cents an hour.
For starters, any and all non-violent victimless drug-related crimes should be pardoned. No victim, no crime. Time to reduce the number of people on taxpayer dime incarcerated because of stupid laws.
Don Siegelman would be high on my list also.
But unfortunately Obama only cares for his legacy now, not for justice, so I won’t be holding my breath waiting for him to do the right thing.
Obama’s “clemency” and his supposed interest in reforming America’s for-profit prison system is a transparent and half hearted PR exercise and a poor attempt to redeem a legacy that looks more like George Bush’s third and fourth terms than anything like the hope and change promised in the 2008/2012 presidential campaigns.
The prison/justice system is broken because it’s profitable. At an estimated turnover of $74 billion per annum, it eclipses the GDP of 133 nations. It’s profitable for the police departments, the for-profit prisons, for counties, for states and for thousands of secondary businesses many of whom employ prisoners in shoddy and unsafe working conditions, paying them a disgraceful 25 cents an hour.
For starters, any and all non-violent victimless drug-related crimes should be pardoned. No victim, no crime. Time to reduce the number of people on taxpayer dime incarcerated because of stupid laws.
6
This is a particularly poorly argued opinion piece. The Editorial Board explains that President Obama has pardoned fewer than his successor but does little to explain why convicted criminals inherently deserve pardons, or why such a "second chance" should be limited to those who have the foresight (and education and ability) to apply for a pardon.
Ultimately the Board seems to get it right: if we don't like the stigma's and limitations we impose on convicted felons either legislatively remove them or leave it to the states to develop automatic process around them
I'd rather the President focus on running and improving the country.
Ultimately the Board seems to get it right: if we don't like the stigma's and limitations we impose on convicted felons either legislatively remove them or leave it to the states to develop automatic process around them
I'd rather the President focus on running and improving the country.
2
Blagojevich penalty should be reduced or eliminated.
Blagojevich didn't make a dime, didn't take any money, and didn't spend any money he wasn't entitled to. He made no profit on his crime, yet he was sentenced to 14 years in prison. The Government simply refuses to acknowledge that, unlike every other elected official prosecuted for political corruption, Blagojevich never took a cash bribe; he never accepted a gift from a political patron, such as an expensive watch or a car or a free vacation; and he never took money from his campaign fund to spend on himself or his family. He was ordered to pay zero restitution because there was no reason to pay. There was not a single victim. He can't practice law, he can't get a state job, and has more restrictions as a conviced criminal. What more punishment does he need?
Blagojevich didn't make a dime, didn't take any money, and didn't spend any money he wasn't entitled to. He made no profit on his crime, yet he was sentenced to 14 years in prison. The Government simply refuses to acknowledge that, unlike every other elected official prosecuted for political corruption, Blagojevich never took a cash bribe; he never accepted a gift from a political patron, such as an expensive watch or a car or a free vacation; and he never took money from his campaign fund to spend on himself or his family. He was ordered to pay zero restitution because there was no reason to pay. There was not a single victim. He can't practice law, he can't get a state job, and has more restrictions as a conviced criminal. What more punishment does he need?
2
Gee! Maybe it all has to do with wire fraud, attempting to sell a Senate appointment, and the various other charges. The man abused a position of trust to the nth degree. His appeal was turned down by the Supreme Court. Let him serve his term and find work like other average people who aren't given a leg up.
1
While we may never know why President Obama has not used the power of his pen to pardon worthy Americans, I believe that the public demands accountability for excessive sentences and political prosecutions.
One of the most notorious political prosecutions involves the Republican Party's take over of the government of Alabama.
The Republican Party operatives employed dirty tricks to scrounge up questionable evidence against Democratic Governor Don Siegelman.
I and others in Alabama have repeatedly written to President Obama on behalf of Don.
I hope the President will do the right thing and free Don from the nightmare of the Republican political prosecution.
One of the most notorious political prosecutions involves the Republican Party's take over of the government of Alabama.
The Republican Party operatives employed dirty tricks to scrounge up questionable evidence against Democratic Governor Don Siegelman.
I and others in Alabama have repeatedly written to President Obama on behalf of Don.
I hope the President will do the right thing and free Don from the nightmare of the Republican political prosecution.
1
The one pardon I think he absolutely must issue is to Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. Otherwise, Trump's campaign promise to "lock her up" is still on the table and the nuisance GOP congressional investigations will continue.
3
Pardoning Hillary would be a waste of time and ink. Hillary is one of the most honest people in our country. She was a wonderful First Lady, an accomplished Senator and a stellar SOS. She ran a squeaky clean operation in all of those positions; not to forget her time in Arkansas where her reputation As an honest and law abiding citizen is unscathed. Obama has more important pardons to attend to - there is no chance Hillary committed any crimes.
P.S. A pardon against future possible charges would almost make her look like she was guilty of something? If anyone deserves a pardon it's those who pled the fifth when questioned about Hillarys basement server
P.S. A pardon against future possible charges would almost make her look like she was guilty of something? If anyone deserves a pardon it's those who pled the fifth when questioned about Hillarys basement server
1
I would fervently hope that President Obama would right a terrible wrong of the Cold War era. i would respectfully exhort the president to exonerate Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. Despite recent evidence, it is clear that their conviction, and eventual execution, was the result of a political climate poisoned by McCarthyism and latent anti-Semitism.
At no time in our nation's peacetime history had individuals, convicted of espionage, ever executed. The Rosenbergs were political casualties.
At no time in our nation's peacetime history had individuals, convicted of espionage, ever executed. The Rosenbergs were political casualties.
6
They were spies and traitors.
1
Ok, let me get this straight. You want the president to review 4200 individual cases from convicted felons and grant most of them clemency? This rising tidal wave of individual special interests that receive more than their fair share of attention from Democrats is exactly why Trump was voted in. The NY Times has been my loyal reading companion, at my side each morning for over 34 years. But more and more I'm beginning to realize how much it contributes to the problem, to mix metaphors, how it stokes the fire of special interests. And this saddens me. It's kind of like my grandmother is dying and I'm sitting by her side and watching it.
3
Amen!
"Truth spoken here".
The corrosive impact of mass incarceration on the lives of individual human beings along with their families and friends does not end with their release from prison. The impact on their mental, emotional and physical health is exacerbated by socioeconomic, educational and political limitations on their rights as citizens that last a life time. Thus a pardon, rather than a commutation, has much more impact. Moreover, while the purpose of prison is supposed to be part retribution, removal and rehabilitation, the latter is the only one that limits the likelihood of recidivism.
But a nation that has 2.3 million people in prison, which is 25% of the total with only 5% of human beings, is the enduring inhumane evil. Commutations and pardons are too little and too late.
We need far fewer people in prison who are non-violent, poor, black, brown, illegal drug trade participants, alcoholics and mentally ill. We need more prisoners who are sane, healthy, violent, career and organized criminals who have a major impact on our socioeconomics, politics and education. Much more Wall Street and less Main Street. More politicians and lobbyists.
"Truth spoken here".
The corrosive impact of mass incarceration on the lives of individual human beings along with their families and friends does not end with their release from prison. The impact on their mental, emotional and physical health is exacerbated by socioeconomic, educational and political limitations on their rights as citizens that last a life time. Thus a pardon, rather than a commutation, has much more impact. Moreover, while the purpose of prison is supposed to be part retribution, removal and rehabilitation, the latter is the only one that limits the likelihood of recidivism.
But a nation that has 2.3 million people in prison, which is 25% of the total with only 5% of human beings, is the enduring inhumane evil. Commutations and pardons are too little and too late.
We need far fewer people in prison who are non-violent, poor, black, brown, illegal drug trade participants, alcoholics and mentally ill. We need more prisoners who are sane, healthy, violent, career and organized criminals who have a major impact on our socioeconomics, politics and education. Much more Wall Street and less Main Street. More politicians and lobbyists.
4
Snowden.
Manning.
The manhunt and forced exile of the former, and the torture and illegal detention of the latter, both for blowing the whistle on corruption and abuses of power, are among the most disgraceful acts I've seen from a presidential administration in my lifetime.
Both should have been pardoned, and they will forever stain Obama's legacy in the history books for his failure to do so.
Manning.
The manhunt and forced exile of the former, and the torture and illegal detention of the latter, both for blowing the whistle on corruption and abuses of power, are among the most disgraceful acts I've seen from a presidential administration in my lifetime.
Both should have been pardoned, and they will forever stain Obama's legacy in the history books for his failure to do so.
6
Were Obama to pardon Manning, he would have to admit that his prosecution of him was unwarranted.
He'll never make that sort of admission.
He'll never make that sort of admission.
1
I have no problem pardoning those who have completed their sentences. In fact it should be mandatory regardless of the crime. There are thousands of men and women who can't get jobs because of their convictions.
On the other hand I have real problems with commuting sentences of major drug dealing felons. The idea that their is such a thing as nonviolent drug crimes is pure fantasy. Drugs, violence and death go hand in hand. These are not people who were caught with a nickel bag. How many thousands have died directly or indirectly from the actions of these people whose only interest was to enrich themselves at the expense of those around them? How many crimes were committed to feed the habits of those these criminals started on the way to ruin? But there is a more particle reason. To release these people without thought to how they will make their living in the world is simply irresponsible. Their record will keep them from getting a job, and a lack of training and the money required to achieve that end will lead to one end. They will return to the only "skill" they have and that is dealing drugs. Those that will suffer won't be Obama who will be living in a lily white high end neighborhood with enough security to withstand a direct assault by Russia. We of the black community and our children will be the ones who will pay for the presidents foolishness and lack of thought.
On the other hand I have real problems with commuting sentences of major drug dealing felons. The idea that their is such a thing as nonviolent drug crimes is pure fantasy. Drugs, violence and death go hand in hand. These are not people who were caught with a nickel bag. How many thousands have died directly or indirectly from the actions of these people whose only interest was to enrich themselves at the expense of those around them? How many crimes were committed to feed the habits of those these criminals started on the way to ruin? But there is a more particle reason. To release these people without thought to how they will make their living in the world is simply irresponsible. Their record will keep them from getting a job, and a lack of training and the money required to achieve that end will lead to one end. They will return to the only "skill" they have and that is dealing drugs. Those that will suffer won't be Obama who will be living in a lily white high end neighborhood with enough security to withstand a direct assault by Russia. We of the black community and our children will be the ones who will pay for the presidents foolishness and lack of thought.
@Michael Parish - Serving a sentence does not make a person "safe". The term repeat offender comes to mind.
Obama's lack of pardons might have added to the long list of reasons why Hillary lost the election.
Beside Russia's hacking and the horrible email from the F.B.I, Director just 11 days before the election which were the main reasons why she lost.
But if Obama had used his executive power to clement and pardons the thousands of Black and other minority prisoners who're languishing in federal prisons for years for dealing in only a small amount of crack-cocaine, Hillary could get at least 10 million or more Black and Hispanic voters who just sat out the last election instead of adding these extra votes that she needed to overcome the difference of few hundred votes in the crucial battleground states that gave Trump the presidency.
But there is something that Obama can do even now.
He can pick up his executive clemency pen that the Constitution had granted him, and either reduce the sentences of the Black and minority prisoners or downright pardon them, so that they can start a new life with a clean sheet and not live under a perpetual poverty and downright degraded lives that most of them live now.
I know if Hillary won, he couldn't do that as it would've affected her presidency.
But since she was denied the post of presidency through illegal maneuvering by foreign powers like Russia and our own highest law enforcement official, Obama should go ahead and pardon millions of our minority prisoners who would've never been locked up in the first place if they were Whites.
Beside Russia's hacking and the horrible email from the F.B.I, Director just 11 days before the election which were the main reasons why she lost.
But if Obama had used his executive power to clement and pardons the thousands of Black and other minority prisoners who're languishing in federal prisons for years for dealing in only a small amount of crack-cocaine, Hillary could get at least 10 million or more Black and Hispanic voters who just sat out the last election instead of adding these extra votes that she needed to overcome the difference of few hundred votes in the crucial battleground states that gave Trump the presidency.
But there is something that Obama can do even now.
He can pick up his executive clemency pen that the Constitution had granted him, and either reduce the sentences of the Black and minority prisoners or downright pardon them, so that they can start a new life with a clean sheet and not live under a perpetual poverty and downright degraded lives that most of them live now.
I know if Hillary won, he couldn't do that as it would've affected her presidency.
But since she was denied the post of presidency through illegal maneuvering by foreign powers like Russia and our own highest law enforcement official, Obama should go ahead and pardon millions of our minority prisoners who would've never been locked up in the first place if they were Whites.
2
Only the black and minority prisoners? Really?
2
Obama should pardon himself for the disservice he did his party. He was supposed to have left his party in better position than he found it. Instead, the opposite is the current reality. His party suffered a major defeat this past election. It lost all control and Mr. Obama must take some of the blame, if not all of the blame, albeit this party never really put forward a credible candidate (how could any candidate have lost against Trump?)
7
@Will - Any president's obligation is first and foremost to the country and it's citizens. You seem to blame election results on the president, however I blame the millions who stayed home and did not vote.
4
Their only two choices would have both lost to Trump but that was the problem when the queen was already crowned and the fix was already in.
I spent 30 years in the DEA with assignments all over the world, including quite a few years in Colombia and Mexico. For your readers' information, the people who occupy Federal prison cells are not nickel and dime users. They are not seventeen year old Dick and Jane who are out on a high school date and get stopped with a "joint" of marijuana.
Federal drug defendants are almost invariably indicted for Conspiracy to violate the controlled substances act and for the record, these are not nice people. You would not want your daughter bringing one of these people home to meet the family. They run organized "Mafias" that have evolved into multi-dimensional criminal enterprises that manufacture, smuggle and distribute thousands of kilos of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other drugs; they kidnap, kill, decapitate, and commit other unspeakable atrocities against their victims and enemies, and they are engaged in wholesale corruption of foreign governments, of which Mexico is a key example. And in recent years, they have evolved into human trafficking as well.
These conspiracy investigations are extremely complex and many require years to come to completion so they can be presented to a Federal grand jury for indictments. So the next time you read about Mr. Obama granting clemency to these convicted killers who sell poison to your children, you have to ask yourself what possible benefit could there?
Federal drug defendants are almost invariably indicted for Conspiracy to violate the controlled substances act and for the record, these are not nice people. You would not want your daughter bringing one of these people home to meet the family. They run organized "Mafias" that have evolved into multi-dimensional criminal enterprises that manufacture, smuggle and distribute thousands of kilos of heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and other drugs; they kidnap, kill, decapitate, and commit other unspeakable atrocities against their victims and enemies, and they are engaged in wholesale corruption of foreign governments, of which Mexico is a key example. And in recent years, they have evolved into human trafficking as well.
These conspiracy investigations are extremely complex and many require years to come to completion so they can be presented to a Federal grand jury for indictments. So the next time you read about Mr. Obama granting clemency to these convicted killers who sell poison to your children, you have to ask yourself what possible benefit could there?
47
The war on drugs is a failure. By artificially restricting markets, a black market is created. The same thing happened to alcohol during prohibition. The answer is to legalize drugs. Drugs were legal throughout history up until the 20th century. Our punitive and draconian drug policy is repressive, regressive and does the opposite if it's intended purpose. It makes society more dangerous, not less. This is had shown time and time again. People have a right to their own bodies. The government had absolutely no right to criminal voluntary drug use. Regulate and tax yes, but criminalize? Absolutely not.
1
Federal drug sentences tend to be determined by the hourly rate of the defense attorneys.
Years ago, I met a man who was one of the leaders of an international "import" organization While he was very bright and behaved well when the situation required, he made his money from bringing cocaine into the US. He was convicted on some federal charges. There were no assault or battery charges. (I would not have wanted him angry about anything I'd done, but that was simply instinct.) He was sentenced to 18 months in Lewisburg. On the night he was arrested, he did not resist when he woke in the middle of the night with a US Marshall holding a .45 in his face.
He was, of course, white. I expect he'd put his profits offshore, because his attorneys were very good and were not working pro bono. A black man would have been sentenced to life without. The justice system should be color blind.
Most men reach an age when they no longer want to commit crime. They cease to be a danger to anyone.
Years ago, I met a man who was one of the leaders of an international "import" organization While he was very bright and behaved well when the situation required, he made his money from bringing cocaine into the US. He was convicted on some federal charges. There were no assault or battery charges. (I would not have wanted him angry about anything I'd done, but that was simply instinct.) He was sentenced to 18 months in Lewisburg. On the night he was arrested, he did not resist when he woke in the middle of the night with a US Marshall holding a .45 in his face.
He was, of course, white. I expect he'd put his profits offshore, because his attorneys were very good and were not working pro bono. A black man would have been sentenced to life without. The justice system should be color blind.
Most men reach an age when they no longer want to commit crime. They cease to be a danger to anyone.
1
You speak from valuable experience, but, since that experience does not fit the agenda of certain political views, it is obviously not valued by many. Anyone who has ever dealt with convicted felons knows that none of them think their sentence was appropriate or that they were even guilty (except for a few, who are thereby thought of as mentally ill). There is a very well defined and elaborate justice system in this country that affords criminal defendants rights and protections far in excess of those given almost anywhere else in the world. For a President to override such convictions without clear and convincing evidence to undermine the conviction is highly inappropriate.
It needs to be Bowe Bergdahl. Read the Newsweek article 1/16 to understand.
6
If Obama pardons the "wrong" people, some Republicans and some cops and some prosecutors might not like him. Even worse, he might not get re-elected. But wait a minute.....
Even worse than that, the Republicans might obstruct his agenda. But wait another minute......
Worst of all, Republicans might say bad things about him.....
Spine?
Principle?
Morality?
Compassion?
Even worse than that, the Republicans might obstruct his agenda. But wait another minute......
Worst of all, Republicans might say bad things about him.....
Spine?
Principle?
Morality?
Compassion?
13
Ridiculous comment. You (or the author) haven't read the cases forwarded for pardon over the years. Not everyone who has committed crime should have their records eradicated. Say you owned a company and your candidate had received a pardon for embezzlement? His background check came back okay. Feeling good about that? Maybe someone served time for stalking a couple years ago. He gets a pardon so his record looks clean, but he's dating your daughter now -- comfortable with that?
4
Pardon Hilary - for any crimes that may be charged, with or without a valid basis, for any conduct up to the date of the pardon. Trump's henchmen can't wait to get her.
"If Obama pardons the "wrong" people, some Republicans and some cops and some prosecutors..."
No, if Obama pardons the wrong (no quotes required) people, some folks might be killed, robbed or assaulted.
No, if Obama pardons the wrong (no quotes required) people, some folks might be killed, robbed or assaulted.
1
John Walker Lindh
9
Anyone the Republicans want still in jail should be released.
7
You mean like when , then President Bill Clinton pardoned Marc Rich?
15
That was different - Eric Holder vouched for him and Denise Rich made a huge contribution to the Clinton Library.
Or when GHW Bush pardoned everyone having anything to do with Irangate as he left office? Besides, Irangate was such a trifling affair––to Republicans. After all, what's a little high treason among friends?
2
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.
11
The point of commuting many of these sentences is that the time is beyond any reason.
1
Ever hear of prosecutorial misconduct? A nice term for fixing the evidence, or trial against an innocent person. There's lots of that. Prisons for profit? Many of them. Does it make sense to you that more people "do the crime" in the US than any other nation in the world? Doesn't make sense to me. So simple minded slogans do not apply. As usual, follow the money. See who profits.
5
Free Manning...
19
Free Leonard Peltier. Please, Mr. President.
30
At very least, he should free Leonard Peltier. He should also pardon Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden -- whom he should award a Medal of Freedom.
He should also pardon Jeffrey Sterling who is dying in prison for speaking the truth.
Obama was quick to pardon Bush, Cheney and other criminals but hard on Truth Tellers, journalists and dissidents. That, drone assassination aside, is his legacy.
He should also pardon Jeffrey Sterling who is dying in prison for speaking the truth.
Obama was quick to pardon Bush, Cheney and other criminals but hard on Truth Tellers, journalists and dissidents. That, drone assassination aside, is his legacy.
44
Sorry, folks who knowingly commit treason don't get to skate. The federal courts decided against execution, so they should be glad for that.
If you think after the presidential campaign and Putin's comments throughout it that Snowden was not Putin's mole, then ask yourself why anyone would "hide" in Moscow. I hear the weather in February in Moscow is particularly lovely. He probably could have disappeared in Vietnam, where the weather is warm and the beaches are again beautiful. If all else fails there, he can hide in the jungle.
I read about most of the programs that Snowden ratted out in various books published in the US when Snowden was still a schoolboy. He and Assange should share a cell somewhere miserable, obviously without internet access.
Leonard Peltier should, of course, be free.
If you think after the presidential campaign and Putin's comments throughout it that Snowden was not Putin's mole, then ask yourself why anyone would "hide" in Moscow. I hear the weather in February in Moscow is particularly lovely. He probably could have disappeared in Vietnam, where the weather is warm and the beaches are again beautiful. If all else fails there, he can hide in the jungle.
I read about most of the programs that Snowden ratted out in various books published in the US when Snowden was still a schoolboy. He and Assange should share a cell somewhere miserable, obviously without internet access.
Leonard Peltier should, of course, be free.
5
The entire "Dreamers" registry.
13
Even if he pardons them they are still illegally here tomorrow. The President cannot grant them citizenship. It is beyond his power.
Yes, but they will be pardoned for a "criminal" act
The NYT Editorial Board contradicts itself in advocating the restoration of gun ownership privileges to convicted criminals. Has it not been the consistent position of the NYT that there are not sufficiently controls on gun ownership among all citizens? And how is the pardoning of those who have completed their incarceration "safer"? Has it not been the opinion of the NYT that long prison sentences corrupt rather than rehabilitate?
13
Obama was just too busy flying all over the world constantly.
6
As the editorial board retires to their ivory tower for the night and Mr. Obama to his secure estate, please release more felons onto the street so that you feel good about yourselves; please disregard the rights of the people who abide by the law, respect others and property rights and create out of whole cloth the right of those who abuse others to be victims. Godspeed.
17
Pardons apply only to those who have served their prison sentences. They're already out on the street.
You didn't read the article. It advocates pardons for those who have already done their time and are out on the street.
1
Pardons are for people who have served their sentences--so he wouldn't be "releasing felons onto the street." They're already out of prison! Please read the article.
1
Don't be a wimp. Those guys committed crimes. No one forced them to. They need to stay in jail for their entire sentences. To pardon them is to mock our justice system.
17
Did you even read the article? It is not talking about commutations (where sentences are reduced), but rather pardons, which occur after any jail time - and probation and restitution. It is very easy to throw out blanket statements condemning "criminals" but we are not talking about murderer's, rapists, thieves, etc. Pardons are for folks who pose no realistic threat to society, but are unable to contribute as fully as they otherwise would due to limitations on things like professional licensing. I know doctors that took a referral fee to send their blood work to one lab over another. They didn't order phony or unnecessary tests. They simply chose one qualified lab over another. For patients with private insurance, this was fine. But for Medicare patients, the same transaction was considered a government bribe. Conviction, jail, loss of license followed. Would society not be better served if individuals like this, with no other history of crime of any kind, after completing their sentence and probation, were allowed to assume normal lives with normal rights? Would society not be better served if these individuals could get good jobs and pay more in taxes?
This comment, like the one immediately before it, misses the point. The pardons addressed in this editorial are not commutations where a sentence is reduced or a person released from prison. Pardons are for people who have already served their sentences and are out of jail. Pardons remove the stigma and restrictions that many ex-convicts face and allows them to fully participate in society.
Please actually read the article before making a knee-jerk statement. "Unlike a commutation, which shortens or ends a prison sentence, a pardon is an act of forgiveness granted to someone who has completed a sentence. Pardons remove the stigma of conviction and restore the right to hold office, to vote, to obtain certain business licenses and to own a gun — all activities that can be denied those with criminal records."
Should Obama pardon or release more inmates according to a quota established by past Presidents? Or should he do so based on an examination of specific cases in light of laws or social standards that have changed? Although I am sure that there are a lot of people deserving of pardon I wonder how many of them has the NYT actually investigated? Doing this only by the numbers seems like a poor idea not in the public interest.
20
Ford pardoned Nixon and whether it was political payback or the stated reason so that the country could move on I think the President should do the same for Hillary. It takes the whole sordid mess off the table and the threat goes away.
He can't do anything that makes the rabid Trump supporters happy so why worry about their reaction and while sticks and stones might break his bones a tweet from the master tweeter will never hurt him.
He can't do anything that makes the rabid Trump supporters happy so why worry about their reaction and while sticks and stones might break his bones a tweet from the master tweeter will never hurt him.
10
@Michael - What are you talking about?
1
Typical Obama. He knows the problem, heck, he even wrote a paper about it, but like his inspiring speeches, he rarely does the hard work of leading and doing just a enough to pay lip service. I was not surprised by this article. It exemplifies the strange contradiction of Obama, and is totally consistent with his anemic eight years in the bully pulpit.
11
Why this fantasy that crack, heroines, and meth dealers, some of them possessing guns, are "non violent drug offenders"? All of a sudden, selling drugs and enslaving a community, ruining families, destroying human beings, is not doing violence??
19
Add: and killing the competition.
1
There is on person that needs to be on the pardon list. It is Don Siegalman, perhaps the only "political prisoner", thanks to the to the devious manipulations of Karl Rove. Don Siegalman was a very popular Governor of Alabama and its most enlightened, which made him Karl Rowe's prime candidate for destruction on questionable conflict of interest charges. He has exhausted all of his appeals. He was the only hope for bringing Alabama out of 19th century poverty and into the late 20th to early 21th era. With the probable confirmation of Jeff Sessions for the next head of the "Justice" Department, any hopes for an urgently needed pardon will be lost in his lifetime.
Please, please, show an extra level of your massive humanity pardon him before you leave office!
Please, please, show an extra level of your massive humanity pardon him before you leave office!
14
I have few heroes these days, but I so would love to see Edward Snowden able to come home with a pardon, or at least with some sort of a one year plea deal.
He is a genuine whistleblower, one who saw illegal activity and acted.
Don't suppose there is a way to blanket pardon the many man and women still locked up over marijuana?
Hugh Massengill, Eugene Oregon
He is a genuine whistleblower, one who saw illegal activity and acted.
Don't suppose there is a way to blanket pardon the many man and women still locked up over marijuana?
Hugh Massengill, Eugene Oregon
16
I'd be okay with a Snowden pardon, but the Obama administration has systematically and diligently prosecuted leakers. Not very likely.
@Hugh Massengill - You think Snowden is a "hero" because he "saw illegal activity and acted"??? Really? Sorry but Snowden himself committed illegal activity, and the government acted, so technically the government should be your "hero". Maybe you should watch more sports and find a hero there.
2
Dear President Obama,
Please do not pardon Donald Trump's dear friend Vladimir Putin for the orchestration of multiple crimes against the American people and its government. That way Mr. Putin can be arrested and detained on felony charges on his next trip to the U.S.
Please do not pardon Paul Manafort or James Comey as they are key Putin operatives in the U.S. That way once more evidence emerges, they too can be prosecuted for high crimes against our country.
Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Glen Macdonald
Please do not pardon Donald Trump's dear friend Vladimir Putin for the orchestration of multiple crimes against the American people and its government. That way Mr. Putin can be arrested and detained on felony charges on his next trip to the U.S.
Please do not pardon Paul Manafort or James Comey as they are key Putin operatives in the U.S. That way once more evidence emerges, they too can be prosecuted for high crimes against our country.
Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Glen Macdonald
8
Most foreign leaders are protected from arrest by diplomatic conventions. That is why former leaders like Kissinger, Cheney, George W. Bush, etc., have to be careful when traveling. They no longer have diplomatic cover and there are warrants out for many for their arrests for war crimes. Obama himself might end up in that category some day. If there is any justice in the world.
1
"Please do not pardon Donald Trump's dear friend Vladimir Putin for the orchestration of multiple crimes against the American people"
That's a moot point.
Obama has for all practical purposes already ignored those crimes during his watch - until it was politically expedient to point them out at the end of his watch.
That's how the cerebral Nobel Laureate handles those sort of crimes.
That's a moot point.
Obama has for all practical purposes already ignored those crimes during his watch - until it was politically expedient to point them out at the end of his watch.
That's how the cerebral Nobel Laureate handles those sort of crimes.
1
Since most understand that the illegal drug trade is underwritten by the implicit threat of violence, a so-called "non-violent drug offense" is usually an oxymoron.
Mr. Obama's care and prudence for not wishing to commute or pardon those who could cause harm to our society if released should not be the subject of editorial criticism. Pardoning criminals for political, personal reasons or in exchange for donations, as happened with the pardon of Marc Rich, subverts our justice system.
Mr. Obama's care and prudence for not wishing to commute or pardon those who could cause harm to our society if released should not be the subject of editorial criticism. Pardoning criminals for political, personal reasons or in exchange for donations, as happened with the pardon of Marc Rich, subverts our justice system.
18
President Obama must issue a blanket pardon of all first-time, non-violent drug offenders and commute all death sentences to life in prison. While he's at it, he might give some thought to doing something quick about all the LGBT veterans stigmatized with dishonorable discharges due to their sexual orientations. So much left to do and so little time!
7
In the midst of a homicide epidemic with 762 in Chicago alone in 2016, the Editorial Boardi gnore that tragedy and advocate the pardoning a Pittsburgh City Councilman and other felons?
In the midst of an Opioid Epidemic, destroying the lives of many Americans and their families, the Editors seek pardons for the "nonviolent drug" criminals responsible.
The Editors have a very low opinion of the U.S. Justice Department, and a very high opinion of felons,many of whom plea bargained for reduced sentences.
In the midst of an Opioid Epidemic, destroying the lives of many Americans and their families, the Editors seek pardons for the "nonviolent drug" criminals responsible.
The Editors have a very low opinion of the U.S. Justice Department, and a very high opinion of felons,many of whom plea bargained for reduced sentences.
13
I wrote to the president several weeks ago about using his authority to grant clemency to at least some of America's political prisoners. Most people don't believe that we have 'political prisoners' because they are all imprisoned for violating domestic criminal laws.
But this is no different than the political prisoners that we recognize who are being held in other countries. Few countries these days simply arrest someone and lock them up. Although this is exactly what we do at Guantanamo.
A political prisoner is a prisoner of conscious who refuses to bend to official edicts to refrain from speaking out against their governments actions. Or they are someone whose encounter with the law was triggered by their political opposition to the established order and their resistance to the police was triggered by that expression.
Leonard Peltier and Oscar Lopez Rivera are but two. There are others like Mutulu Shakur and other BLA members who have served prison terms often more than 30 years. These men and women like Assata Shakur deserve clemency.
This does not reverse the jury decisions that decided their fate. It simply says they have been punished enough. Most countries in the world do not punish as harshly as we do, yet we applaud ourselves as a democracy and condemn them as autocratic dictatorships.
Mr President use your power to extend the principles of an enlightened democracy with at least some acts of clemency to America's political prisoners.
But this is no different than the political prisoners that we recognize who are being held in other countries. Few countries these days simply arrest someone and lock them up. Although this is exactly what we do at Guantanamo.
A political prisoner is a prisoner of conscious who refuses to bend to official edicts to refrain from speaking out against their governments actions. Or they are someone whose encounter with the law was triggered by their political opposition to the established order and their resistance to the police was triggered by that expression.
Leonard Peltier and Oscar Lopez Rivera are but two. There are others like Mutulu Shakur and other BLA members who have served prison terms often more than 30 years. These men and women like Assata Shakur deserve clemency.
This does not reverse the jury decisions that decided their fate. It simply says they have been punished enough. Most countries in the world do not punish as harshly as we do, yet we applaud ourselves as a democracy and condemn them as autocratic dictatorships.
Mr President use your power to extend the principles of an enlightened democracy with at least some acts of clemency to America's political prisoners.
7
More than 100,000 people have signed petitions for President Obama to grant Oscar Lopez Rivera a pardon. Mr. President, please remember what the Bard so wisely wrote some 400 years ago.
"The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'T is mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway,
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's,
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy."
"The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes.
'T is mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes
The throned monarch better than his crown;
His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,
The attribute to awe and majesty,
Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;
But mercy is above this sceptred sway,
It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,
It is an attribute to God himself;
And earthly power doth then show likest God's,
When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,
Though justice be thy plea, consider this,
That in the course of justice none of us
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render
The deeds of mercy."
1
Assata Shakur AKA Joanne Chesimard murdered a NJ State Police officer and then was broken out of jail which allowed her to flee to Cuba. How do you justify pardoning her?
Clemency is not a way of addressing fundamental flaws in the justice system. The millions convicted and imprisoned raise systemic problems well beyond the reach of the clemency power that addresses, perhaps, several thousand cases. But a President can make a symbolic statement through those he grants clemency.
Obama can give relief to a small number of high profile individuals who bear the weight of controversial convictions. Clearly, the most high profile case out there is that of Edward Snowden. And just as clearly, he will not be granted clemency. Short of this, the most powerful statement Mr. Obama can make probably relates to excessive sentences. And the most glaring abuse relates not to drug users or other non-violent offenders, who generally receive relatively light sentences. Instead, those who got life under three strikes laws include some who deserved it and many who did not. In my opinion, that is where Obama can do the greatest good for the greatest number. By releasing those serving life sentences for three strikes who have already served many years, he will be giving them a chance to live their future years in freedom. And because these folks are older, the recidivism rate should be lower, and their clemency is more likely to be effective.
Obama can give relief to a small number of high profile individuals who bear the weight of controversial convictions. Clearly, the most high profile case out there is that of Edward Snowden. And just as clearly, he will not be granted clemency. Short of this, the most powerful statement Mr. Obama can make probably relates to excessive sentences. And the most glaring abuse relates not to drug users or other non-violent offenders, who generally receive relatively light sentences. Instead, those who got life under three strikes laws include some who deserved it and many who did not. In my opinion, that is where Obama can do the greatest good for the greatest number. By releasing those serving life sentences for three strikes who have already served many years, he will be giving them a chance to live their future years in freedom. And because these folks are older, the recidivism rate should be lower, and their clemency is more likely to be effective.
2
Eric Snowden and Chelsea Manning?
5
Yes, and many more. Start with Leonard Peltier.
6
Where to begin? Praying for those names on the list that have hit his desk.
9
Mr President, send Leonard Peltier home.
56
You beat me to it, Peezy. Please, Mr. President, Free Leonard Peltier. And please, TIMES readers, call the White House!
11
"In both cases, the trouble rests with the people acting as the gatekeepers of mercy. The clemency process is run out of the Justice Department, where career prosecutors have little interest in reversing the work of their colleagues."
How insulting to blame Obama's abysmal record on career prosecutors, who have very little power and every reason to fear retribution in their jobs. If you want to blame someone at Justice, blame Holder and Lynch. Obama and his administration will be remembered as neoliberals who acted more like republicans than compassionate progressives.
How insulting to blame Obama's abysmal record on career prosecutors, who have very little power and every reason to fear retribution in their jobs. If you want to blame someone at Justice, blame Holder and Lynch. Obama and his administration will be remembered as neoliberals who acted more like republicans than compassionate progressives.
15
If there is anyone in this country that deserves a pardon it is Chelsea Manning and Leonard Pelltier. Each deserves recognition as a prisoner of conscience as well as a hero's medal, rather than continued incarceration.
99
Please, Mr. President. Pardon Leonard Peltier and Chelsea Manning. They are both prisoners of conscience.
Thank you.
Thank you.
10
Perhaps President Obama is abiding by his own policy of clemency? Clemency is not about the number of pardons, it's about making the right decisions to a serious choice to pardon an individual.
12
Chelsea Manning and Steven Avery.
16
It is a rather bizarre editorial. Pardons by sheer volume? And controversial cases like Snowden or Manning?
Funny the editorial has grudgingly acknowledged President Obama's commutations of prison sentences to those who genuinely fell in the trap of being the scapegoat of the criminal justice system by being a drug addict.
Being compassionate is a good thing; but throughout the Obama presidency, it is this kind of nitpicking that provides the obstructionists additional ammunitions to stall genuine efforts by the administration to do it right by the American people. And invoking POTEUS at the closing is even stranger still. Really, there are a lot of expose about Mr Trump lately. Had the editorial been more diligent early on, things might not have turned out this way. So, please spend the editorial power wisely
Funny the editorial has grudgingly acknowledged President Obama's commutations of prison sentences to those who genuinely fell in the trap of being the scapegoat of the criminal justice system by being a drug addict.
Being compassionate is a good thing; but throughout the Obama presidency, it is this kind of nitpicking that provides the obstructionists additional ammunitions to stall genuine efforts by the administration to do it right by the American people. And invoking POTEUS at the closing is even stranger still. Really, there are a lot of expose about Mr Trump lately. Had the editorial been more diligent early on, things might not have turned out this way. So, please spend the editorial power wisely
27
Side point, but instead of "non-violent" crime being the standard for determining which acts deserve leniency or forgiveness and which do not, how about "non-predatory" crime instead?
Is a person who injures another in a physical fight between peers, or a drug user caught carrying a gun, really worse than a finance executive who defrauds or cons thousands of tens of thousands of people out of their life savings or homes?
It's plain to see that the latter, predatory financial criminal does every bit as much harm to society, and more. But such people are often not prosecuted, and when convited, serve sentences measured more in months than in years.
Time to change our policies. And our terminology.
Is a person who injures another in a physical fight between peers, or a drug user caught carrying a gun, really worse than a finance executive who defrauds or cons thousands of tens of thousands of people out of their life savings or homes?
It's plain to see that the latter, predatory financial criminal does every bit as much harm to society, and more. But such people are often not prosecuted, and when convited, serve sentences measured more in months than in years.
Time to change our policies. And our terminology.
54
2 actions he will regret.
1) Not pardoning Hillary. The circus is coming, the only way for Trump to appear legit is to make an indictment happen.
2) Not pardoning Joe Biden, and then quitting and having Joe Biden pardon him. Trump has been planning on jailing Barack ever since that Correspondents Dinner.
When Trump looks to jail HRC and BO, remember, fran soyer told you so.
1) Not pardoning Hillary. The circus is coming, the only way for Trump to appear legit is to make an indictment happen.
2) Not pardoning Joe Biden, and then quitting and having Joe Biden pardon him. Trump has been planning on jailing Barack ever since that Correspondents Dinner.
When Trump looks to jail HRC and BO, remember, fran soyer told you so.
2
Fran, 2 predictions you will regret. If BO, JB or HC had done anything for which they would have needed pardons, don't you think Republicans would have tried impeachment and/or indictment already? Hillary may have violated policy, or exercised poor judment (2 things on which she and Comey agree) but nothing that required indictment. DT, on Nov 9, called her a devoted public servant after months of calling her crooked. He needs to get a sense of humor and a thicker skin and pick his fights more carefully.
5
How can he pardon someone who was not charge or convicted of a crime? Hillary real troubles will come from the Clinton Foundation and Teneo, and the state department.
I find the much-circulated idea that Mr. Obama should "pardon" Hillary Clinton repugnant. It suggests without an indictment much less a conviction that she must surely be guilty of some crime and, thus, in need of pardoning. The GOP will not go after her, mainly because there is no longer any political benefit in doing so, but also because in all these decades of spending millions of taxpayers' dollars they have never been able to make anything stick.
1
The Times knows full well that a pardon has no requirement for sentence completion. The most notorious example is Bill Clinton's pardon of Marc Rich.
Why the faulty definition?
Why the faulty definition?
45
The most notorious example is RICHARD NIXON.
OBAMA Has, by executive order, created many monuments and has also expanded the national parks significantly. That was relatively easy lifting. By contrast, pardons are heavy lifting for a number of issues that are mostly thorny. Take, for example, the disgrace of the US gulag, that houses more prisoners than any other nation. A significant proportion of gulag prisons are for-profit, meaning that pardons would disrupt the flow of taxpayer's money for keeping innocent and/or nonviolent, reformed prisoners locked up. There were cases where a judge in PA accepted kickbacks for sending innocent, nonviolent adolescent offenders to for-profit gulags. That judge's illegal, immoral activities were uncovered and corrected, but at enormous cost to the teens and their families who suffered great pain and trauma because of the greed of for-profit prison owners. Considering the 8 years of GOP sabotage and traitorous actions (i.e., McConnell's pledge to make Obama a one-term president) made it extremely difficult for the President to get things accomplished. Perhaps in the final days of his administration, he will pardon a significant number of nonviolent prisoners. Though I would daresay that Obama is greatly troubled by the unhinged, madcap antics of Trump, who flirts with a dangerous Putin while denying the loyalty of allies who form NATO, to the great chagrin of many experts across the political spectrum. Brace yourselves for the Mad Hatter's Tea Party!
14
I suppose it’s too much to ask the Times to extend this justified call for greater mercy from President Obama for convicted criminals to the case of Jonathan Pollard, when both the Times and the President continue to be actively engaged in their blood feud with Mr. Netanyahu; but allow me to try.
Whatever else can be said about Jonathan Pollard, including a great deal that is very bad, the truth is that Israel (1) long ago apologized for its role in his spying; (2) provides highly valuable intelligence support to the U.S. throughout the Middle East and elsewhere; (3) has accepted many Obama demands over the past 8 years that it has been fundamentally opposed to, including the release of Palestinian terrorist-murderers of women and children; and (4) has never publicly complained about the around-the clock spying the U.S. has been conducting on, in, over and around Israel itself since the very inception of the state.
Which after 30 years of prison means it would be time to allow Pollard to go to Israel.
Whatever else can be said about Jonathan Pollard, including a great deal that is very bad, the truth is that Israel (1) long ago apologized for its role in his spying; (2) provides highly valuable intelligence support to the U.S. throughout the Middle East and elsewhere; (3) has accepted many Obama demands over the past 8 years that it has been fundamentally opposed to, including the release of Palestinian terrorist-murderers of women and children; and (4) has never publicly complained about the around-the clock spying the U.S. has been conducting on, in, over and around Israel itself since the very inception of the state.
Which after 30 years of prison means it would be time to allow Pollard to go to Israel.
15
No mention of the fact that Obama took exception to the war on drugs started by Reagan, and commuted the sentences ofmany many drug traffickers.
The times work here is why nobody trusts this paper
Here's the facts...
https://www.justice.gov/pardon/obama-commutations
The times work here is why nobody trusts this paper
Here's the facts...
https://www.justice.gov/pardon/obama-commutations
4
A very appropriate article. But does Obama read my NY Times? Can you not Tweet it to you know who as well?
3
Pardon Hillary otherwise she's going to jail
3
He will most certainly try. He's so incensed about losing to her, that it's really his only recourse. Comey's reputation depends on an indictment as well. It would absolve him of all the criticism. So yeah, it's a "slam dunk".
5
Pardon Hillary for what exactly? Why do these fantasies never include details?
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
4
Only if she did the crime(s), which is highly likely. She could still be impeached as SecState even though she is out of office. I would prefer that to prison for her, as she doesn't need more pension(s). She's been living off the public most of her life, with mostly free health care, the health care she would deny the rest of the country. When not in office, she used her contacts derived from office, or the potential for future office, to benefit the "Foundation". Did you hear that Clinton Foundation donations are way down?
How many people are in US prisons? 2.2 million (2013) from what I have read and another 4.75 million on parole etc.
How many did President Obama pardoned? 1,324... is what I read in another newspaper. Sad! I have to plagiarize President-elect Donald Trump here.
People can handle very little truth as good philosopher once said, and America is NOT a nation of second chances. In fact, America is a nation where once you are in the clutches of the legal system you NEVER get out of it, there are so many collateral consequences that one cannot imagine.
American President needs to issue blanket pardons to remove the stain of these ridiculous convictions and imprisonments off its citizens so they can participate properly in their society and the world at large... a convicted person in the US cannot leave the US either... as they would be stopped even at the Canadian border!
How many did President Obama pardoned? 1,324... is what I read in another newspaper. Sad! I have to plagiarize President-elect Donald Trump here.
People can handle very little truth as good philosopher once said, and America is NOT a nation of second chances. In fact, America is a nation where once you are in the clutches of the legal system you NEVER get out of it, there are so many collateral consequences that one cannot imagine.
American President needs to issue blanket pardons to remove the stain of these ridiculous convictions and imprisonments off its citizens so they can participate properly in their society and the world at large... a convicted person in the US cannot leave the US either... as they would be stopped even at the Canadian border!
68
It would be nice if the Republican Senate and House picked up a pen and begged the country's pardon for their mistreatment of President Obama over the last eight years. He certainly deserves clemency after the way the GOP abused him during his presidency.
41
...and fix the sentencing laws while you're at it. There is so much unfairness and lack of justice in America.
12
Please allow Leonard Peltier to go home.
1
I hope that President Obama will allow Chelsea Manning to leave her torturous prison situation where the military treatment she has received has been illegal and beyond humane. What was her crime? Reporting torture, abuse and murder by intelligent agencies that tried to cover up and keep secret.
I am shocked that the Editorial Board made no mention of this criminal event.
And President Obama stated that Ed Snowden was a traitor without reading the information he exposed to the public which invaded and endangered citizens privacy unknowingly.
A very slight slap on the wrists for Obama's failure in the areas of pardons, as well as reporting unfair incarcerations mainly for minority inmates.
I am shocked that the Editorial Board made no mention of this criminal event.
And President Obama stated that Ed Snowden was a traitor without reading the information he exposed to the public which invaded and endangered citizens privacy unknowingly.
A very slight slap on the wrists for Obama's failure in the areas of pardons, as well as reporting unfair incarcerations mainly for minority inmates.
49
I agree. Whenever I think of that case, I feel ill.
8
Obama will be remembered for scrambling jets to bring down a Paris bound flight that our intelligence community believed Snowden was on, so desperate was he to get personal revenge on this high level whistleblower.
5
No one scrambled any jets, where do you get this stuff?
1
Read the Cornel West piece in the Jan 9 Guardian to put this in context re the Obama legacy. It's all part of a pattern.
4
Just read it - thanks - presents a compelling argument.
Be careful. Our country is so divided that any criticism of Obama will automatically have you labeled as a Trump supporter.
Obama didn't live up to many people's expectations, and this is but one tiny example. Those of us who haven't succumbed to the partisan plague that has infected our country can look objectively at his presidency.
We don't need to hear about how bad Bush was and how bad Trump will be. Obama simply failed to execute the meaningful 'hope and change' that we were promised.
Obama didn't live up to many people's expectations, and this is but one tiny example. Those of us who haven't succumbed to the partisan plague that has infected our country can look objectively at his presidency.
We don't need to hear about how bad Bush was and how bad Trump will be. Obama simply failed to execute the meaningful 'hope and change' that we were promised.
17
Well said.
The Times has done nogjing to improve its status as a legitimate source of news.
The Times has done nogjing to improve its status as a legitimate source of news.
5
Derek
We can all see how you don't mention Congress in your diatribe. You know, the other two thirds of Government?
They, through willful inaction and with malice in their hearts have done all they can to ensure President Obama did not succeed.
We can all see how you don't mention Congress in your diatribe. You know, the other two thirds of Government?
They, through willful inaction and with malice in their hearts have done all they can to ensure President Obama did not succeed.
7
Actually, Congress (the Legislative Branch) is one third, the Executive Branch and the Judicial branch being the other two thirds. (I know this is being nit picky and off-topic to your comment. I just spend a lot of time helping with Social Studies homework lately!)
1
With Representative Chaffetz back on the get Hillary warpath, Trump's recent reprise of "guilty" Hillary proclamations, renewed concerns about the sobriety of FBI head Comey and a long, ugly GOP track record of prosecutorial investigations against adversaries, it is imperative that Obama pardon Hillary Clinton.
11
Chavez should be in prison, he is one troublesome, hateful, partisan.
1
To have had the power to right so many wrongs and not use it will haunt Obama someday.
7
There is a former Gov of Alabama who has been rotting in jail for years. I believe partially due to the "kind" Jeff Sessions. Why not pardon this man?
I am disillusioned in what Obama has NOT done in his second term. Too interested in his legacy, which his lack of action is only going to hurt his legacy.
I am disillusioned in what Obama has NOT done in his second term. Too interested in his legacy, which his lack of action is only going to hurt his legacy.
4
The most critical pardon Mr. Obama needs to make is of Hillary Clinton.
Despite her penchant for doing foolish things - and the sadly widespread perception that some of those things were, in fact, criminal - I do not believe that she has done anything actually criminal. But I also do not believe the capricious and unpredictable Mr. Trump when he claims (at least right now) that he has no intention of making good on his campaign promise to begin a full-scale investigation of Ms. Clinton. In fact, given how often Mr. Trump has done a literal 180 on things said or at an earlier time, I believe that he will, in fact, begin such an investigation - which would not only unnecessarily destroy the lives of Ms. Clinton and her family, but would cost the taxpayers millions, possibly tens of millions of dollars that would almost certainly be wasted.
Mr. Obama could put the kibosh on any such investigation by granting Ms. Clinton a full pardon. And he should - indeed, must - do so if he believes that Ms. Clinton's actions, while sometimes unwise, were not criminal.
Despite her penchant for doing foolish things - and the sadly widespread perception that some of those things were, in fact, criminal - I do not believe that she has done anything actually criminal. But I also do not believe the capricious and unpredictable Mr. Trump when he claims (at least right now) that he has no intention of making good on his campaign promise to begin a full-scale investigation of Ms. Clinton. In fact, given how often Mr. Trump has done a literal 180 on things said or at an earlier time, I believe that he will, in fact, begin such an investigation - which would not only unnecessarily destroy the lives of Ms. Clinton and her family, but would cost the taxpayers millions, possibly tens of millions of dollars that would almost certainly be wasted.
Mr. Obama could put the kibosh on any such investigation by granting Ms. Clinton a full pardon. And he should - indeed, must - do so if he believes that Ms. Clinton's actions, while sometimes unwise, were not criminal.
10
The investigation is complete, she just needs to be charged by a legit DOJ.
3
When I learned that Hillary Clinton had lost the election, one of my first thoughts was that she needed to leave the country - and go to a place that does not have an extradition treaty with the US.
A high profile investigation of the Clintons (especially the Clinton Foundation), will either prove their innocence, or their guilt. So why be afraid of one? Unless you have serious doubts about their "innocence". I do.
1
Free Edward Snowden.
15
Chelsea Manning. Snowden.
Now this would take a bit of courage. But look at Trump. He is brave and does what he thinks.
So the time for cowering from public opinion is over.
Pardon Chelsea Manning.
Now this would take a bit of courage. But look at Trump. He is brave and does what he thinks.
So the time for cowering from public opinion is over.
Pardon Chelsea Manning.
113
I don't see how you can expel 35 Russian diplomats because of email hacking, and at the same time pardon Manning or Snowden, who did far worse damage with their leaks of classified and sensitive information.
5
Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA flagrantly violated the Fourth Amendment and spied on our allies without compromising individuals. He had no way to tell his story in this country without going to jail. Legislation is needed to decriminalize a whistleblower like Snowden. I agree he should be pardoned.
4
The only damage Manning or Snowden did, was to the pride of the incompetents who allowed the security systems to be compromised, and their embarrassment at being shown as incompetents. This includes the NSA, Hayden, Alexander, Clapper and Obama. Rather than learn and improve, they choose revenge and denial.
The Times Editorial Board is making the same mistake as many of President Obama's liberal detractors in the last several days. But today's piece left out an expanding opinion - he wasn't Black enough.
President Obama worked tirelessly for the past 8 years. For all of you who are so disappointed that he was an 89 out of 100, I'll take an 89 all day long.
He's been a great President.
President Obama worked tirelessly for the past 8 years. For all of you who are so disappointed that he was an 89 out of 100, I'll take an 89 all day long.
He's been a great President.
48
Respectfully, can we please stop bringing up the color of Obama's skin after 8 years? How insulting that he is still judged by that one attribute despite a long track record on which to evaluate his presidency.
7
It's the Republicans who have had the color of his skin in mind from day one. There are some Democrats who also think that he wasn't "black enough" because he didn't take up their causes to suit them. Curious George was only stating the obvious, we have bigots in this country, they haven't forgotten that this President is first African American to become President, that's why we now have the Orange one.
3
well said!
1
The first person on the list should be Don Siegelman. His only crime was contesting his election, which was taken away from him in the middle of the night, and being a Democratic governor in a very red state run by ruthless Republicans. Go to https://free-don.us/ for the inside story.
22
Yes Don Seligman,that is the Governor I referenced in a mail this morning. It is a travesty that he is away from his family and just put there at the whim or some partisan Repug hacks who rule the South. Obama will have to be sorry if he does not release this man. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE. How Sad. I have lost much respect for Obama.
5
President Obama, please pardon Chelsee Mannng.
85
You cannot expel 35 Russian diplomats because of their country's role in leaking DNC emails to Wikileaks and at the same time ask to pardon Manning, whose leaks of classified cables was far worse and did far more damage.
2
So 1200 commutations is great but we just need some more pardons.
When will you folks ever be happy?
When will you folks ever be happy?
6
One of the things that puzzled me about the US is the idea that once you're a convicted felon, you're somewhat of a 'lesser' citizen. Your voting rights are taken away, you can't run for office, etc. When I first learned about this, it did truly surprise me. While the article takes a stance advocating for the pardon for individuals, I think the bigger issue is more systemic. Surely, the country that prides itself as the 'Home of the Free and Land of the Brave' can do better than take away fundamental rights of its own citizens!
13
@Vibhas - When a citizen ignores the laws of the country, there are consequences. Felons are a more serious category of crimes -- we're not talking about misdemeanors here (misdemeanors or minor crimes do not have the same consequences regarding voting, etc.). A convicted felon can always appeal for a pardon through the justicial system if they have rehabilitated after serving time, it need not be a Presidential use of constitutional ability to grant commutations and pardons.
1
After the Supremes released Virginia's Bob McDonnell, Alabama's Don Siegelman should definitely be given his "Get Out Of Jail" card.
Sadly, Obama is more concerned about making an exit that looks squeaky clean than actual justice.
Sadly, Obama is more concerned about making an exit that looks squeaky clean than actual justice.
8
Good point about McDonnell in my opinion he should be in jail. Sad how this has happened. Get busy OBAMA!
1
"restore the right to hold office, to vote, to obtain certain business licenses and to own a gun — all activities that can be denied those with criminal records."
Why is denial of those rights such a big deal? It makes no difference to the country or to the felons by leaving denials intact. But what if rights restored later get abused? Say an office-holder committing fraud, or worse, a gun-owner gone amok? The NYT has nothing to say about that. Which, as it is for all NYT bleeding heart editorials, is understandable. More heart-bleed, less blood to the brain, less thinking-through positions.
Listen, Mr. Obama, the fastest disappearing president in US history, is and for sometime now, yesterday's news. The only pardon he needs to be involved in is his own, for conning the American people out of 8 empty years of leadership. Then backing the wrong horse, then laying land mines the last month of office for the incoming president-elect to remove.
And let's, in the same breath, also get that pardon out of the way. Is he forgiven? Yes, but only because he's a terrific orator and a great human being. Now Mr. President, leave, please just leave.
Why is denial of those rights such a big deal? It makes no difference to the country or to the felons by leaving denials intact. But what if rights restored later get abused? Say an office-holder committing fraud, or worse, a gun-owner gone amok? The NYT has nothing to say about that. Which, as it is for all NYT bleeding heart editorials, is understandable. More heart-bleed, less blood to the brain, less thinking-through positions.
Listen, Mr. Obama, the fastest disappearing president in US history, is and for sometime now, yesterday's news. The only pardon he needs to be involved in is his own, for conning the American people out of 8 empty years of leadership. Then backing the wrong horse, then laying land mines the last month of office for the incoming president-elect to remove.
And let's, in the same breath, also get that pardon out of the way. Is he forgiven? Yes, but only because he's a terrific orator and a great human being. Now Mr. President, leave, please just leave.
7
TMK - Your opinion, of course, about President Obama, but only that. Personally, I find your comments ignorant of facts and reality.
There are currently over six million Americans either in prison or on parole, with millions more "ex-cons" with criminal records struggling to assimilate back into society. Why not touch the most deserving 2-3% of these individuals with commutations and/or pardons? It would reward people working hard to turn their lives around and encourage more to do so knowing there is hope. 2-3% of this population would be approximately 250,000 people.
I think something like this should be done because it is morally right. It would also be very financially positive by saving incarceration costs and increasing the incomes of struggling Americans who are only marginally employable given criminal records.
I think something like this should be done because it is morally right. It would also be very financially positive by saving incarceration costs and increasing the incomes of struggling Americans who are only marginally employable given criminal records.
67
@Pete - How can you base pardons strictly on numbers? You know nothing of each individual, their crime(s), if they are sincerely rehabilitated or never really made an effort. The "most deserving" "250,000 people"? How do you imagine that can be done properly, even if that is your only task every day?
1
Pete,
The logic escapes me. Why is it "morally right" to pardon 250,000 incarcerated individuals? What criteria will you use to determine the most deserving 2-3%. Would we all agree on the same criteria? Possible only 1% qualify, maybe 15% qualifies.
I agree, we have a bloated prison system, a justice system that struggles to do the right thing and more than a few ridiculous criminal statutes, but those are issues for another discussion. Presidential pardons are not the answer to these challenges.
The logic escapes me. Why is it "morally right" to pardon 250,000 incarcerated individuals? What criteria will you use to determine the most deserving 2-3%. Would we all agree on the same criteria? Possible only 1% qualify, maybe 15% qualifies.
I agree, we have a bloated prison system, a justice system that struggles to do the right thing and more than a few ridiculous criminal statutes, but those are issues for another discussion. Presidential pardons are not the answer to these challenges.
Obama should pardon many non violent offenders imprisoned for minor drug crimes due to their dependency. He should definitely not pardon Donald Trump. He's guilty for crimes against our country. There are no mitigating circumstances for him.
8
Edward Snowden - An act to end an era.
Not so much for him, but to send a message to the world that the United States can withstand even the biggest troublemaker.
Yes - America is that big.
Not so much for him, but to send a message to the world that the United States can withstand even the biggest troublemaker.
Yes - America is that big.
31
Actually, the biggest troublemaker will arrive on the scene Friday. You'll be wanting many more Snowdens before Trump is done.
“A society should be judged not by how it treats its outstanding citizens but by how it treats its prisoners.” Dostoyevsky
“Barack Obama should be judged not by how he treats Joe Biden but by how he treats Chelsea Manning” Sera Stephen
“Barack Obama should be judged not by how he treats Joe Biden but by how he treats Chelsea Manning” Sera Stephen
36
Chelsea Manning pled guilty, and knew the consequences of her actions before she acted.
1
One glaring injustice Obama ought to deal with is that of John Walker Lindh. Not only has his life been stolen, but a plea bargain has sealed his lips against telling his story. I realize that most of the population, in the heated climate after September 11, 2001, has drunk the Kool Aid and views him as a justly punished traitor, but the facts are different. I realize the pervasive attitude that FACTS DON'T MATTER swamps public opinion, but i am sure the President surely knows better. Grow a spine and do the right thing.
7
Bowe Bergdahl, Mr. President. Please pardon him before you leave. He suffered years of torture. It's enough.
41
He needs to issue a preemptive pardon of Hillary Clinton. As more evidence may emerge of Trump et. al. wrongdoing, they are very likely to go after Hillary once again in order to deflect public attention. And, we already know there are partisan issues at the FBI. She has provided too many decades of public service to be caught up further than she has already endured in the GOP swamp.
8
Were Clinton's "decades of public service" for the public, or self enrichment? It appears that the later is what got her in the situation of being investigated, and potentially, prosecuted. A pardon will only further ruin her reputation if she is innocent. If she were innocent of any crimes, then she should not want a pardon, but for any current investigation details to be revealed to the public. It's time her defenders and excuse makers cut the clap trap and support the facts coming out. Of course, a legitimate investigation and prosecution would finally silence them--which is what I desire.
While you are at it, President Obama, please reschedule marijuana so more medical research can actually be done and MS and cancer patients can obtain some relief.
3
We will get a real measure of Mr. Obama when it comes to Snowden. Will he rise above his anger at Snowden's revelations and see them for the honorable thing they were. Many will measure his entire presidency by this one act or lack there of.
I fear that Mr. Obama will not take pen in hand and do the right thing.
I fear that Mr. Obama will not take pen in hand and do the right thing.
80
@Allen Palmer - Those who are doing the honorable thing do not flee the country. Those who have knowingly committed criminal offenses do, however.
Seriously - can you imagine Trump pardoning anybody?
4
"Perhaps President-elect Donald Trump will learn from Mr. Obama’s failure to heed that wisdom." How UTTERLY naive.
3
Charles Kushner.
1
Free Leonard Peltier America's Political Prisoner.
40
There's nothing political about a robbery and gun shoot-out. And of the group of young men who were involved, only Mr. Peltier fled to Canada.
Pardons erase criminal records of a select few and, as Obama states, are meted out in an arbitrary manner. One Southern governor issued pardons upon leaving office to one group of blacks -- those who had worked for him at the Governor's Mansion.
Pardons are designed to remove the stigma of a criminal record by a declaration that a past crime never happened. They withhold information from employers and others for fear that they will make unjust decisions. They are based on the view that countless decision makers irrationally penalize those with criminal records. Proponents want the President to come to the rescue of a select few. There are three better solutions. One is to bar improper sanctions based on criminal records. The second is to allow access to the extenuating circumstances of a past conviction like Mr. Udin's to allow employers and others to make decisions on more information, not less. Third, most states already allow expungements through the court system, which grant most of the relief of pardons on a case-by case basis with decisions made by judges, Expanding the availability of expungements would allow for most of the relief of pardons without flagrant special treatment.
Pardons address the problem of unfair treatment of those with criminal records in an unfair way. The better solution is to eliminate the unfairness with alternatives that apply to all. Favoring a select few compounds injustice and is not the way to go.
Pardons are designed to remove the stigma of a criminal record by a declaration that a past crime never happened. They withhold information from employers and others for fear that they will make unjust decisions. They are based on the view that countless decision makers irrationally penalize those with criminal records. Proponents want the President to come to the rescue of a select few. There are three better solutions. One is to bar improper sanctions based on criminal records. The second is to allow access to the extenuating circumstances of a past conviction like Mr. Udin's to allow employers and others to make decisions on more information, not less. Third, most states already allow expungements through the court system, which grant most of the relief of pardons on a case-by case basis with decisions made by judges, Expanding the availability of expungements would allow for most of the relief of pardons without flagrant special treatment.
Pardons address the problem of unfair treatment of those with criminal records in an unfair way. The better solution is to eliminate the unfairness with alternatives that apply to all. Favoring a select few compounds injustice and is not the way to go.
4
"Perhaps President-elect Donald Trump will learn from Mr. Obama’s failure to heed that wisdom."
Baaahaha! The guy who thought and still thinks the Central Park Five are guilty...give more pardons? The guy who thinks women should be punished for merely having an abortion? The guy who wants to keep Gitmo open and "load it up with some bad dudes"?
There's no joy in the Mudville of Post Fact USA, but that was the closest thing to a good joke I've seen since Hate Trumped Love that late post-election night.
Back in sane reality, when it comes to people to pardon, of course the heroic Edward Snowden remains on top of the lists of anyone with a soul. We need a national hero at home, now more than ever, to counteract our national embarrassment-in-chief.
Baaahaha! The guy who thought and still thinks the Central Park Five are guilty...give more pardons? The guy who thinks women should be punished for merely having an abortion? The guy who wants to keep Gitmo open and "load it up with some bad dudes"?
There's no joy in the Mudville of Post Fact USA, but that was the closest thing to a good joke I've seen since Hate Trumped Love that late post-election night.
Back in sane reality, when it comes to people to pardon, of course the heroic Edward Snowden remains on top of the lists of anyone with a soul. We need a national hero at home, now more than ever, to counteract our national embarrassment-in-chief.
12
" Perhaps President-elect Donald Trump will learn from Mr. Obama’s failure to heed that wisdom."
~ The NYTimes editorial standards are slipping. As any high school english teacher can attest, it is grammatically incorrect to use the words "learn," "wisdom" and "Trump in the same sentence.
~ The NYTimes editorial standards are slipping. As any high school english teacher can attest, it is grammatically incorrect to use the words "learn," "wisdom" and "Trump in the same sentence.
62
Trump and new Attorney Sessions may decide to outsource to Mexico and Canada the 150,000 jobs of Americans now producing and distributing cannabis in those states where the voters have legalized it, To preempt that Obama should pardon every prisoner now in jail on cannabis related charges. Also, Mexico should legalize it as well so the profits would go to tax paying entities rather than the illegal cartels. Beer is produced by legitimate businesses in Mexico now, so can cannabis.
4
If nothing else give Hillary a pardon. I would not like to see the marching and outrage in the streets if THEY go after her again. Save us, and her, from that, please.
5
"Advice" from W to Barack Obama? What an absurdity.
3
I was hoping to see President Obama commute Rod Blagojevich's sentence as there is no question that14 years was/is excessive.
6
yes, please Pres Obama, 14 years was such an excessive sentence. please do the compassionate thing and reduce his sentence to time served.
please commute his sentence to time served. 14 years was so excessive! please Pres. Obama.
Every felon who has served his/her sentence should be allowed to vote again. Lifelong disenfranchisement for felons is wrong on three grounds:
1. It amounts to disproportionate punishment – punishment in addition to the sentence served.
2. It is punishment for status rather than for behavior and therefore no different than punishment for being homeless, an addict, gay, or Muslim.
3. It lacks any administrative justification - unlike prohibiting violent felons from owning guns or insider traders from working again in the securities industry.
If possible, then, Pres. Obama should restore the franchise to every petitioner. This would not only be the right thing to do and send a very strong message about the injustice of lifelong disenfranchisement; it would also strengthen Pres. Obama’s – and the Democrats’ – hand in their battle against voter suppression.
1. It amounts to disproportionate punishment – punishment in addition to the sentence served.
2. It is punishment for status rather than for behavior and therefore no different than punishment for being homeless, an addict, gay, or Muslim.
3. It lacks any administrative justification - unlike prohibiting violent felons from owning guns or insider traders from working again in the securities industry.
If possible, then, Pres. Obama should restore the franchise to every petitioner. This would not only be the right thing to do and send a very strong message about the injustice of lifelong disenfranchisement; it would also strengthen Pres. Obama’s – and the Democrats’ – hand in their battle against voter suppression.
13
The president could have pardoned so many more people needlessly put away for most of their lives just to satisfy the barbaric lust for punishment that pervades this culture. He could have closed Guantanamo. He could have ended solitary confinement, a speciality of the U.S. 'justice' system, and surely unconstitutional. He could've released Leonard Peltier, Mumia Abu Jamal, Chelsea Manning, and Oscar Lopez Rivera, political prisoners all. None of them had a fair trial. Sadly Obama's acts don't match his words.
He has two days left, I hope he proves me wrong.
He has two days left, I hope he proves me wrong.
3
His acts don't match his words.
5
Free Leonard Peltier...
8
Fear not, Editors, I suspect that President Obama will manage to do some mischief in last minute pardons, just as President Clinton did. We do not yet know who his Marc Rich will be (I expect there will be several). The traitor Manning, no doubt, and other left wing "worthies". I cannot wait to hear the list of shame.
4
I've been on the planet for quite a while, and always, this issue of exoneration of criminal adjudication, is a last minute thing.
If it is good to do, do it ongoing, and Mr O, whom I despise, has indeed done so, to his credit, - although I differ in his choices and the executions .
If it must be done in the chaos of transition, it is unworthy.
=
And NOTHING important should be done in the chaos of transition that could have been done earlier, like these exonerations.
=
As to whether a criminal conviction, and punishment, after one 'pays ones debt to society,'should be a life-long impairment -
- is a proper discussion.
=
I am generally quite punitive, laws should be internalized, not merely imposed and coerced, and should be enforced or repealed.
And exonerations have tended to be political (from here) not on merits, nothing new there, all POTII are equal opportunity offenders .
=
so, in sum, skip the last minute desperation.
If it is good to do, do it ongoing, and Mr O, whom I despise, has indeed done so, to his credit, - although I differ in his choices and the executions .
If it must be done in the chaos of transition, it is unworthy.
=
And NOTHING important should be done in the chaos of transition that could have been done earlier, like these exonerations.
=
As to whether a criminal conviction, and punishment, after one 'pays ones debt to society,'should be a life-long impairment -
- is a proper discussion.
=
I am generally quite punitive, laws should be internalized, not merely imposed and coerced, and should be enforced or repealed.
And exonerations have tended to be political (from here) not on merits, nothing new there, all POTII are equal opportunity offenders .
=
so, in sum, skip the last minute desperation.
1
I think that President Obama has tried to follow President Bush's advice and only approve pardons that are recommended to him by the pardons office. In doing so he has ensured that those who have the financial means to get a Congressional recommendation or those who have a personal relationship with the President don't have an unfair advantage. If that slows things down so be it. Presidential pardons shouldn't be given lightly.
The real concern is addressing the racial bias in the pardons office. Studies have shown that a white person is four times more likely to receive a pardon than a person of color with black people having the worst outcome. This is something that needs to be addressed. Race should have no merit when it comes to receiving a pardon. Those who recommend pardons to the President need to be aware of their own biases.
President Obama should be commended for focusing on clemency. That more than anything else has corrected a wrong and gives people a chance at life. Hopefully Trump will continue the process that the last two presidents have followed regarding this issue.
The real concern is addressing the racial bias in the pardons office. Studies have shown that a white person is four times more likely to receive a pardon than a person of color with black people having the worst outcome. This is something that needs to be addressed. Race should have no merit when it comes to receiving a pardon. Those who recommend pardons to the President need to be aware of their own biases.
President Obama should be commended for focusing on clemency. That more than anything else has corrected a wrong and gives people a chance at life. Hopefully Trump will continue the process that the last two presidents have followed regarding this issue.
18
Given that the Pardon Attorney is an appointed office by the Attorney General, I doubt that any appointee by the current AG would have a racial bias. Perhaps whites commit more pardonable offenses than blacks, although such an opinion would not likely find favor with most SJWs.
1
Leonard Peltier ought to be at the top off the list for a full pardon.
12
I think once you serve a sentence, your record should be encrypted for need to know only, and there should be no lifetime stigmas. Do the crime, you do the time, and that's it!
4
Chelsea manning and Edward Snowden please.
15
Editorial Board,
You write: Mr. Obama, Pick Up Your Pardon Pen.
What would you have President Obama do with his Pardon Pen?
Do you have a nomination for President Obama to pardon?
Let's hear it. Otherwise, your opinion that the more pardons the better (that is what you are suggesting) is nothing more than wind pudding and walk around.
You write: Mr. Obama, Pick Up Your Pardon Pen.
What would you have President Obama do with his Pardon Pen?
Do you have a nomination for President Obama to pardon?
Let's hear it. Otherwise, your opinion that the more pardons the better (that is what you are suggesting) is nothing more than wind pudding and walk around.
3
Obama should issue a blanket pardon for Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, Cheryl Mills, Anthony Weiner, etc., as they have paid their price to society. However, he should not offer clemency to Bradley Manning. He is a traitor and expects special treatment.
3
Pardon Hillary Clinton before Trump has her arrested after he takes the oath of office.
4
Dear President Obama:
Please issue a blanket pardon to Hillary Clinton for her time as SecState and after, perhaps longer. Since the power of the pardon is limited only from impeachments, you can phrase it so there's no presumption of guilt, or assertion, but rather to protect her from the vindictive persecution that the GOP intends to attack her with. For 25 years the right-wing has been building this insane fantasy case of her "crimes", fictitious "murders" (despite the fact that her WORST enemies and her husband's survived), etc. 7 hearings on Benghazi, and never touched her.
But Jason Chaffetz, that monster who attacks the ethics officer but won't investigate Trump, has promised to persecute Hillary Clinton.
I strongly urge you to protect her and anyone else they are likely to go after as they exact retributive "payback" for daring to challenge the GOP, the Tea Party, and Donald Trump.
Please issue a blanket pardon to Hillary Clinton for her time as SecState and after, perhaps longer. Since the power of the pardon is limited only from impeachments, you can phrase it so there's no presumption of guilt, or assertion, but rather to protect her from the vindictive persecution that the GOP intends to attack her with. For 25 years the right-wing has been building this insane fantasy case of her "crimes", fictitious "murders" (despite the fact that her WORST enemies and her husband's survived), etc. 7 hearings on Benghazi, and never touched her.
But Jason Chaffetz, that monster who attacks the ethics officer but won't investigate Trump, has promised to persecute Hillary Clinton.
I strongly urge you to protect her and anyone else they are likely to go after as they exact retributive "payback" for daring to challenge the GOP, the Tea Party, and Donald Trump.
12
Please pardon Chelsea Manning.
6
Obama likely lacks the boldness to issue a significant amount of pardons, in the same way that he lacks it to remove marijuana from the federal Schedule 1 classification.
What he hasn't done, in a sense, reveals more about him than what he HAS done.
What he hasn't done, in a sense, reveals more about him than what he HAS done.
2
These people pretty much all promise the world if elected. Somehow though, they find the time to take a lot of vacations. They shouldn't take them while one potential pardon is on their desk. At least make decisions before you go on a talk show or have a fancy dinner, because some place there is a kid who doesn't have a parent or someone whose guilt was not firmly established.
4
I hope President Obama at least pardons Hillary Clinton from any and all claims that might arise out of her use of her email server or her testimony concerning the email server. When things go badly for Trump he will not be above offering the head of Mrs. Clinton to the frenzied mobs to divert their attention and quell their unrest over his failure to deliver. He will lead the chant: "Lock her up."
5
Pardon Robert Bales. He served three tours in the Iraq War and received traumatic brain injury. Then, he was sent to Afghanistan, where he massacred 16 civilians in the course of one night.
The sentinels that allowed him to leave the base drunk -- twice that evening -- are not in jail.
Now that TBI and the effects of concussions are being better understood, he should be pardoned and released to a mental facility.
The sentinels that allowed him to leave the base drunk -- twice that evening -- are not in jail.
Now that TBI and the effects of concussions are being better understood, he should be pardoned and released to a mental facility.
4
Snowden helped this country. Time to recognize it.
17
Perhaps he's concerned about restoring the right to own a firearm to a person who has been convicted of a crime and sentenced to jail?
1
I hope President Obama reconsiders and pardons a great many more people.
1
Deserving pardon, among many others, are certainly Leonard Peltier, Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, all imprisoned for non-violent marijuana "offenses" and all undocumented "aliens" in this country.
A fresh start in clean air would do wonders for them and us, but Barack Obama won't disturb the rulling deep state and revolving door that he intends to pass through to cash in. No doubt instead he'll follow the sordid example of Bill Clinton, rather than Jimmy Carter, who bravely pardoned all VietNam War resisiters.
A fresh start in clean air would do wonders for them and us, but Barack Obama won't disturb the rulling deep state and revolving door that he intends to pass through to cash in. No doubt instead he'll follow the sordid example of Bill Clinton, rather than Jimmy Carter, who bravely pardoned all VietNam War resisiters.
6
Not Assange or Snowden there are many more good people out there that should be pardoned. These 2 should rot in prison.
2
Pardon OJ
1
Do you feel any sense of hypocrisy, even a tiny bit, for writing in this article your support for commuting sentences of "... inmates ... serving outrageously long terms, including life without parole, for nonviolent drug crimes." while another opinion piece, on the very same day, bemoans the "innocent victims" of opiod abusers?
Just askin'
Just askin'
2
I wasn't aware Marc Rich needed another pardon.
1
On Mr. Obama’s first Inauguration Day, in 2009, President George W. Bush gave him a good piece of advice: Pick a pardon policy and stick with it. Perhaps President-elect Donald Trump will learn from Mr. Obama’s failure to heed that wisdom.
------------------------------
Give me and him a break, will you?
He has three more full days as president of USA before he flies off to Palm Springs for a Vacay at tax payer's expense for the last time. He may pull a bigger surprise than Bubba did before he is done like dinner.
Another thing: To receive a pardon, you need not have served your time. The editors of this newspaper need to be more informed than the readers they communicate with. Shameful.
------------------------------
Give me and him a break, will you?
He has three more full days as president of USA before he flies off to Palm Springs for a Vacay at tax payer's expense for the last time. He may pull a bigger surprise than Bubba did before he is done like dinner.
Another thing: To receive a pardon, you need not have served your time. The editors of this newspaper need to be more informed than the readers they communicate with. Shameful.
3
The U.S. has an embarrassingly awful record in criminal justice. We have convicted and sentenced to death many innocents, our courts have frequently rejected revisiting cases where compelling evidence of innocence has been uncovered post conviction, our sentences are frequently much longer than other countries impose for similar crimes, the parole policies of most of our states are broken because of political fears, we impose mind-breaking solitary confinement far too often. We have hundreds of political prisoners - sentenced to decade of imprisonment. President Obama still has an opportunity to create a new start for criminal justice by using his commutation and pardon policies much more widely and making a clear and cogent policy statement as to why he is doing so. He would do well to emulate former Governors George Ryan of Illinois and Winthrop Rockefeller of Arkansas, both of whom commuted all death sentences in their states. And he would do well for our democracy to release political prisoners like Leonard Peltier, Oscar Lopez Rivera, and the Holy Land Five.
9
Even after long prison sentences have been completed, the punishment continues on the outside. This is a vindictive no second chance society. Even the lifelong labels of "felon" and "sex offender" are designed to cripple people for life, making them useless to society.
Think of the many sexually active teenagers who will live with the scarlet letter of "sex offender" for life. Yes I am sure there are many who deserve the label, but it is recklessly tattooed for life.
If they are not allowed to pay their debt to society in full before walking out the prison gates - then we are condemning them to prison for life - whether behind bars or sleeping under bridges without hope.
It is not surprising we have more of our citizens behind bars than any civilized or uncivilized nation on Earth.
Pardons are seen as weakness by many. Wait until the "law and order" President-elect has the power to pardon, see how often he uses it for citizens that deserve it and not geared towards self serving profitable reasons - like pardoning his staff for conflicts of interest, treason, etc. My guess is he will throw all under the bus.
Think of the many sexually active teenagers who will live with the scarlet letter of "sex offender" for life. Yes I am sure there are many who deserve the label, but it is recklessly tattooed for life.
If they are not allowed to pay their debt to society in full before walking out the prison gates - then we are condemning them to prison for life - whether behind bars or sleeping under bridges without hope.
It is not surprising we have more of our citizens behind bars than any civilized or uncivilized nation on Earth.
Pardons are seen as weakness by many. Wait until the "law and order" President-elect has the power to pardon, see how often he uses it for citizens that deserve it and not geared towards self serving profitable reasons - like pardoning his staff for conflicts of interest, treason, etc. My guess is he will throw all under the bus.
Your last sentence is pretty laughable -- this suggestion that perhaps Donald J. Trump will LEARN from Obama's shortcomings and adopt a more evenhanded approach to mercy and pardons. For whom, the Russians? Lol.
3
The Army's attempt to severely punish, mistreat, and discredit the enlisted soldiers — Sgt. Pfc. Chelsea Manning and Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl — is shameful.
Pfc. Manning should be pardoned by the President Obama, and Sgt. Bergdahl should be honorably discharged and released.
Officers are indeed treated differently from the enlisted "swine". This can be rectified in the Manning and Bergdahl matters by President Obama.
Pfc. Manning should be pardoned by the President Obama, and Sgt. Bergdahl should be honorably discharged and released.
Officers are indeed treated differently from the enlisted "swine". This can be rectified in the Manning and Bergdahl matters by President Obama.
7
Should the President pardon Hillary? She is not guilty of any crime but the threat of phony investigation will hang over Mrs. Clinton for all of the Trump years. I would like to have Mrs. Clinton free of the fear if retaliation.
2
Historians talk about a President's legacy, for Obama there isn't much there and this pardon topic proves the point that Obama's 2 terms have been an abysmal failure. Now comes Trump, an even worse case and he hasn't been sworn it yet. How low can this country go?
I am hoping that President Obama is going to grant clemency to Leonard Peltier. I was his son's teacher for a brief time during the 1970's when Leonard was in the midst of legal troubles. Leoanard Peltier has been called America's longest serving political prisoner. He deserves to be at home with his son to spend his last years with the family. After all these years, this family should be togther at last.
2
Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, start with those. Then move on to every single marijuana conviction that does not involve violence.
Official forgiveness, is as much about the state being able to admit an error, as it is about those upon whom mercy is shown.
There is no state interest in "making an example" out of people who pose no further threat whatsoever to society, and in the case of Snowden and Manning, have demonstrably performed a public service in breaking the law, by opposing government overreach.
What are the odds? I don't know, but I'm rooting for the president, whose fundamental decency has been an inspiration and an example. Time to man up, and avoid wasting the lives and liberty of valuable citizens through the needless grandstanding and show boating of hypocritical public servants.
Official forgiveness, is as much about the state being able to admit an error, as it is about those upon whom mercy is shown.
There is no state interest in "making an example" out of people who pose no further threat whatsoever to society, and in the case of Snowden and Manning, have demonstrably performed a public service in breaking the law, by opposing government overreach.
What are the odds? I don't know, but I'm rooting for the president, whose fundamental decency has been an inspiration and an example. Time to man up, and avoid wasting the lives and liberty of valuable citizens through the needless grandstanding and show boating of hypocritical public servants.
1
An easy way to be on the right side of history: Pardon Edward Snowden.
7
Start by pardoning Secretary Clinton, to forestall divisive nonsense about putting her in jail. Then let all the brothers (and sisters) out of jail who are in Federal prison for bogus "crimes." Come on, Barry, in your heart, you know you want to do it. Be consequential.
1
It's interesting that just before I read this my wife had decided to turn on a new show she'd just recorded called The New Pope, starring Jude Law. I didn't care for all the stuffy pompousness and contrived nearness to God. I don't know what about this article made me think of that. I guess any prelate has to assume some unique power as a way to differentiate them from normal mortals. In Jude Law's case, he got to smoke in the pope's office. Obama should just sign them because it's expected for the perpetuation of the aura of power. We need that mystique to cling to, don't let us down Barack.
There is no greater possible betrayal of the message of hope and change than not freeing OSCAR. It should have happened on the first day of Mr. Obama's presidency. Presidential Medals of Freedom mean nothing in light of Oscar's struggle for his beliefs. 35 years of dignity!
My initial response to the final sentence of this article is, "Huh?"
Donald Trump is unable to understand the difference between a crime and satire, especially --most especially--, when he is the subject of ridicule. Take the following example, for example: Since 2008, how many shooting targets have been printed depicting Barack Obama's visage with concentric circles superimposed, the "10" bull's-eye centered on his forehead? How many printers, marketers and users of these "humorous" items has President Obama called out and threatened with legal action?
The answer to the first question is: Millions; to the second: Zero.
Yes, President Obama needs to --must-- pardon untold numbers of Americans for offenses ranging from those that should never have been crimes in the first place, to those that have long ago been paid for in terms of wasted time, lives and potential. This could become one of the jewels of his time in office. But for the editors of the NYT to suggest that Donald Trump might "learn from" Obama's apparent reluctance to do this one last "right thing" is the height of fantasy at best, a mean joke at the expense of men and women condemned to a life of 3rd-class citizenship limbo at worst.
Donald Trump is unable to understand the difference between a crime and satire, especially --most especially--, when he is the subject of ridicule. Take the following example, for example: Since 2008, how many shooting targets have been printed depicting Barack Obama's visage with concentric circles superimposed, the "10" bull's-eye centered on his forehead? How many printers, marketers and users of these "humorous" items has President Obama called out and threatened with legal action?
The answer to the first question is: Millions; to the second: Zero.
Yes, President Obama needs to --must-- pardon untold numbers of Americans for offenses ranging from those that should never have been crimes in the first place, to those that have long ago been paid for in terms of wasted time, lives and potential. This could become one of the jewels of his time in office. But for the editors of the NYT to suggest that Donald Trump might "learn from" Obama's apparent reluctance to do this one last "right thing" is the height of fantasy at best, a mean joke at the expense of men and women condemned to a life of 3rd-class citizenship limbo at worst.
1
Chelsea Manning
Edward Snowden
everyone in prison for non-violent drug crimes
Edward Snowden
everyone in prison for non-violent drug crimes
6
A Tale of Two Cities: One, where the elite can find a profession in holding judgment against others who have no or little means, and of such judgments reduces all their means. The second City is that of the masses, the 99 percent of America and probably of the world, who suffer lack of means and a bad reputation from trying to cope with a lack of the means of those inhabiting the First City.
The entire criminal justice system is crooked, collusive, corrupt in that its members look out for themselves but not the persons they afflict with their judgments.
Our US Jail system is hell.
Anyone seeking a pardon is asking to be delivered from hell, not to receive kindness or comfort or anything along the lines of real help - just out of hell.
President Obama was never one as most Democrats today are, to bloody his hands in a fight for justice. He is ever an aristocrat.
Sadly, though I listen to him and support him, his actions including the denials about the actual living numbers of persons without regular housing in these United States, makes obvious, he is not living with the people. He can get angry that his work may be undone by a maniac Trump, but he should be angry at the suffering and the long term suffering of those wrongly accused, unjustly incarcerated, adversely incarcerated with exaggerated sentences, and antiquated penal codes. (ie any jail time for the possession of cannabis).
The entire criminal justice system is crooked, collusive, corrupt in that its members look out for themselves but not the persons they afflict with their judgments.
Our US Jail system is hell.
Anyone seeking a pardon is asking to be delivered from hell, not to receive kindness or comfort or anything along the lines of real help - just out of hell.
President Obama was never one as most Democrats today are, to bloody his hands in a fight for justice. He is ever an aristocrat.
Sadly, though I listen to him and support him, his actions including the denials about the actual living numbers of persons without regular housing in these United States, makes obvious, he is not living with the people. He can get angry that his work may be undone by a maniac Trump, but he should be angry at the suffering and the long term suffering of those wrongly accused, unjustly incarcerated, adversely incarcerated with exaggerated sentences, and antiquated penal codes. (ie any jail time for the possession of cannabis).
With the presidency of Mr. Obama ending by the end of this week, I have to agree that pardon of those who have not been involved in unprovoked violent crime is in order. Prison over crowding due to those currently in prison across America who have not committed violent crimes will be reduced and make room for new criminals. Those who have been imprisoned or in exile or taking refuge in embassies overseas and who have leaked the truth about dirty political activity or even minor national security issues that have not done any significant harm also need to be pardoned. If there were prisoners in Guantanamo who had no connection with planning or abetting terrorism against the USA could also be candidates for pardon especially if they have not been charged or prosecuted in their years in prison. We are a nation with the most imprisoned per capita and many could benefit from pardon if they will not pose a danger to the communities across the country. I am optimistic that Mr. Obama will pick up his pardon pen in a hurry to do the right thing and showing compassion to those who have earned a pardon.
15
Pardon of Don Siegelman should be a priority.
2
Bush 1 pardoned his pals; Clinton did this too. Maybe a president shouldn't have this power at all? God knows what Trump will do with it.
I have received many emails with online petitions to pardon this person or that. Millions have signed these.
None of those incarcerated have been pardoned.
I hope this shows people the futility of these petitions - which serve only as a way to gather lists of people to target for fund drives.
Want results? Look back at the political movements that worked, and do likewise.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
None of those incarcerated have been pardoned.
I hope this shows people the futility of these petitions - which serve only as a way to gather lists of people to target for fund drives.
Want results? Look back at the political movements that worked, and do likewise.
https://emcphd.wordpress.com
With all due respect and while I am in agreement with pardons like Mr. Udin. The majority of the Commutations, and Pardon's by this President have been dishonest, and disingenuous. Take the recent Commutation announcements of "non-violent" drug offenders. He would have American's believe they were just users and traffic stop victims, caught holding some weed, or crack. They weren't. There were Interstate Drug Distributors, and Criminal Enterprises manufacturing drugs, and enforcing their markets and distribution.
I counted a total of 91 felony Gun counts committed by the “Recipients” of Obama’s 12/19/16 Commutations in reference to NYT article that date. Sourced by the Justice Department website about those Clemency recipients on that date. https://www.justice.gov/pardon/obama-commutations##DEC192016
The gun felony’s commuted include possession of a firearm during trafficking, felon in possession of firearm, (some even referenced repeat offenses, so much for 2nd chances, these would be 3rd or more chances) possession of sawed off shotgun, use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime, possession of a firearm with obliterated serial number, etc. Other listed serious felonies amongst the group included almost a dozen counts of “Drug Trafficking within 1,000 feet of a School” and two counts of “intimidation and threatening of a witness.” Quite troubling to consider that during his term has released hundreds of violent gun-packing felons into society don't you think?
I counted a total of 91 felony Gun counts committed by the “Recipients” of Obama’s 12/19/16 Commutations in reference to NYT article that date. Sourced by the Justice Department website about those Clemency recipients on that date. https://www.justice.gov/pardon/obama-commutations##DEC192016
The gun felony’s commuted include possession of a firearm during trafficking, felon in possession of firearm, (some even referenced repeat offenses, so much for 2nd chances, these would be 3rd or more chances) possession of sawed off shotgun, use of a firearm in furtherance of a drug crime, possession of a firearm with obliterated serial number, etc. Other listed serious felonies amongst the group included almost a dozen counts of “Drug Trafficking within 1,000 feet of a School” and two counts of “intimidation and threatening of a witness.” Quite troubling to consider that during his term has released hundreds of violent gun-packing felons into society don't you think?
2
So everyone is piling on Obama in his last 3 days in office?
Is this the beginning of the usual double standard, whereby no one expects Republicans to stick up for anyone other than themselves and corporations; but Democrats who don't quite live up to the left's lofty standards approaching moral sainthood are a great disappointment? Why isn't this article demanding that Trump look at this issue on day 1, rather than choosing to take health insurance benefits from 20 million Americans?
Obama has 3 days left on the job. The Times should be ashamed to print nonsense like this and the shameful op-ed in yesterday's paper espousing the typical half-truths in an effort to smear Obama's 8 years and frame them as a disappointment. Conservative voices are fine, but they still need to be educated - and fair.
Is this the beginning of the usual double standard, whereby no one expects Republicans to stick up for anyone other than themselves and corporations; but Democrats who don't quite live up to the left's lofty standards approaching moral sainthood are a great disappointment? Why isn't this article demanding that Trump look at this issue on day 1, rather than choosing to take health insurance benefits from 20 million Americans?
Obama has 3 days left on the job. The Times should be ashamed to print nonsense like this and the shameful op-ed in yesterday's paper espousing the typical half-truths in an effort to smear Obama's 8 years and frame them as a disappointment. Conservative voices are fine, but they still need to be educated - and fair.
7
This has always been a contentious issue with me. Far too many people who should have remained behind bars were "pardoned" - On Bill Clinton last day, he pardoned 9 people [including his brother Roger- convicted of drug charges]. Almost all of them we tax evasion and fraud convictions- many of whom donated handsomely to both Hillary's senate campaign and Bill's library. It's the way the our sick, twisted system works- Even for Democrats.
4
Why is Don Siegleman rotting in an Alabama prison? Can anyone tell me how that is just?
Please Mister President, release this political prisoner.
Please Mister President, release this political prisoner.
7
and, at the top of the list, please Mr. Obama, pardon Edward Snowden. Mr. Snowden provided to me, and to the rest of the American people, the information that the NSA was violating our rights. James Clapper lied to Congress about this, and his punishment, nothing. Now, Mr Snowden is a man without a country because he had the courage to reveal the truth. If you do not pardon him, Mr. Obama, you will have abetted a great injustice. You are a much-loved president; please do the right thing.
109
Edward Snowden is a Russian spy and a traitor who likely gave state secrets to Putin to help Trump. How do people not get that he went to Hong Kong and Moscow -- to our enemies -- on purpose to sell out America because he was mad about NSA spying in general? Ecuador, similarly, is a Russian puppet state. He isn't hiding out in neutral countries. The guy should appreciate his life in his beloved Russia because if he ever gets back here, he should rot in prison.
2
The president should only grant pardons in the rarest of cases. After the travesty of the Clinton pardon of Mark Rich you can make an argument for amending the Constitution to eliminate the power entirely.
5
Pardon Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning. American heroes who will be recognized as such by History.
7
Snowden.
Manning.
Assange.
These three are non-negotiable. But they're also the least likely considering that the current occupant of the White House has prosecuted more individuals under the antiquated Espionage Act than all previous presidents combined.
Manning.
Assange.
These three are non-negotiable. But they're also the least likely considering that the current occupant of the White House has prosecuted more individuals under the antiquated Espionage Act than all previous presidents combined.
7
Puerto Ricans on the island and stateside have long been asking the president to pardon political prisoner Oscar López Rivera. His reluctance to do so has struck me as strange until now. In the context of his failure to act more broadly on this issue, I think Puerto Ricans and others hoping for Mr. Lopez's release can lower their expectations. If Pres. Obama hasn't determined to use his pardon power in even less controversial cases, this one seems doomed. We'll see how the next three days play out for everyone on that pardon list.
"Perhaps President-elect Donald Trump will learn from Mr. Obama’s failure to heed that wisdom." I wouldn't count on him following in any of Obama's footsteps, let alone any that require a smidgen of human empathy.
2
This is just plain sad to read. It doesn't seem to go with the rest his policies or the man himself. I would like for Mr. Obama to give us an explanation. So puzzling.
In his few remaining days in authority, President Obama should grant clemency to Leonard Pelletier, Governor Don Siegelman, Chelsea Manning, and Jeffrey Stirling. He should also grant a posthumous pardon to Ethel Rosenberg.
4
President Obama, for all the weight he has carried on his shoulders alone, has been willing to use clemency, especially for non-violent drug offenders. He has spoken very convincingly about the injustice of disproportionate sentences for minor crimes.
President Obama is, however, but one person and has just days left in office. He alone cannot right the wrongs of our criminal justice system. This will take a concerted effort to reach Congress and Governors to rewrite legislation keeping more people from being incarcerated in a lopsided manner for respective offenses. Even the Koch brothers have expressed support for rewriting the laws.
Seeing the forest for the trees means looking far beyond President Obama's last days.
President Obama is, however, but one person and has just days left in office. He alone cannot right the wrongs of our criminal justice system. This will take a concerted effort to reach Congress and Governors to rewrite legislation keeping more people from being incarcerated in a lopsided manner for respective offenses. Even the Koch brothers have expressed support for rewriting the laws.
Seeing the forest for the trees means looking far beyond President Obama's last days.
1
I agreed with every point made here, except the last sentence, which is gratuitously aggressive and patently impossible. Yes, Obama's pardon record is abysmal. Do the editors really believe his successor will learn from Obama or even has the compassion to consider more pardons?
2
I have a hard time imagining that pardons will be anywhere on Trumps agenda... except for the few white-collar criminals. who are white.
3
Bill Clinton pardoned fugitive Marc Rich, so maybe there another deep pocket contributor out there who should also be pardoned.
4
You haven't seen abysmally low yet. Wait until Trump gets into office.
2
The electrician at work offered to bet me (after I lost $20 to him on the election) in a telling example of the confidence and chutzpah of the right wing mind that, "Obama will pardon Hillary Clinton before he leaves office." I accepted, for $30.
I know, I know, for what you ask? Numerous, cocksure reasons rolled off his tongue for the necessity of a pardon, as though when not wiring large houses for very wealthy people he's an understudy fill-in for Alex Jones.
He's a good man for the most part, though I hate his pandering to the wealthy politics. We are opposites but respect each other at work. It is useful having a super hard core right wing insider to interact with, so that the "weird thought magic" going on in that side of America can be understood in the context of a person with a face whom you get along with at work.
I know, I know, for what you ask? Numerous, cocksure reasons rolled off his tongue for the necessity of a pardon, as though when not wiring large houses for very wealthy people he's an understudy fill-in for Alex Jones.
He's a good man for the most part, though I hate his pandering to the wealthy politics. We are opposites but respect each other at work. It is useful having a super hard core right wing insider to interact with, so that the "weird thought magic" going on in that side of America can be understood in the context of a person with a face whom you get along with at work.
2
I agree that President Obama should use the pardon power more often. It is not the fault of the pardoned person that her selection appears to have been the result of a lottery. Your suggestions about the office of the president using the power more objectively and transparently as many states do is excellent. But your description of the pardon power as applying only to convicted persons who have served their sentences is completely incorrect. Please recall that President Ford pardoned Richard Nixon before he had ever been charged with a crime. While I am sure that there are many persons deserving of a pardon, one person should clearly receive one, Hillary Clinton. She has been through enough.
It is not true that independent state boards do a good job determining clemency. They have been shown to be affected by how close to meals appeals come before them. They suffer from availability bias in that, after a report of a parolee committing a crime, they refuse any clemency decisions for years.
True or not the President should assume that he is the ONLY one who will be showing any clemency for the forseeable future and act accordingly. If you want to talk legacy, this will count big time. Needless to say Manning and Snowden would make waves. But there are thousands whose lives you could make better. These people are precious like every person is. Don't be remembered as a fake President.
Put simply Obama's reluctance to use his powers of pardon is unpardonable
3
Please, Pres. Obama, please pardon those thousands of people and Edward Snowden, and Chelsea Manning. Let one piece of paper combine all of the above.
14
VIOLENT felons [whether pardoned or having completed their sentences] should be PERMANENTLY barred from owning guns.
[I exclude the cases where the pardon was because new evidence showed the person was wrongly convicted.]
The Times article cited below describes cases where violent felons [including felons convicted of murder] legally obtained new guns and then used those guns to commit new crimes including murder.
Whether felons should be allowed to vote is an entirely separate issue.
The question of gun ownership and voting rights are entirely different.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/us/felons-finding-it-easy-to-regain-gu...
"Under federal law, people with felony convictions forfeit their right to bear arms. Yet every year, thousands of felons across the country have those rights reinstated, often with little or no review. In several states, they include people convicted of violent crimes, including first-degree murder and manslaughter, an examination by The New York Times has found.
While previously a small number of felons were able to reclaim their gun rights, the process became commonplace in many states in the late 1980s, after Congress started allowing state laws to dictate these reinstatements — part of an overhaul of federal gun laws orchestrated by the National Rifle Association"
[I exclude the cases where the pardon was because new evidence showed the person was wrongly convicted.]
The Times article cited below describes cases where violent felons [including felons convicted of murder] legally obtained new guns and then used those guns to commit new crimes including murder.
Whether felons should be allowed to vote is an entirely separate issue.
The question of gun ownership and voting rights are entirely different.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/14/us/felons-finding-it-easy-to-regain-gu...
"Under federal law, people with felony convictions forfeit their right to bear arms. Yet every year, thousands of felons across the country have those rights reinstated, often with little or no review. In several states, they include people convicted of violent crimes, including first-degree murder and manslaughter, an examination by The New York Times has found.
While previously a small number of felons were able to reclaim their gun rights, the process became commonplace in many states in the late 1980s, after Congress started allowing state laws to dictate these reinstatements — part of an overhaul of federal gun laws orchestrated by the National Rifle Association"
7
The presidential pardon power is NOT dependent on completing a sentence. Nixon, for instance, had served no sentence when he was pardoned by President Ford for Watergate related matters. It may be an understanding that bureaucrats have of how a pardon should be conferred (and I doubt even that), but the pardon is a plenary power of the president, not subject to the interpretation of ANYONE else if he chooses otherwise.
The solution to losing significant attributes of citizenship to conviction of a serious crime and imprisonment, once the sentence has been served, is not pardons: it’s changing our laws to recognize that a debt to society has been paid in full. I sympathize with Obama’s apparent position on this, but he should communicate his own reasons more clearly.
The solution to losing significant attributes of citizenship to conviction of a serious crime and imprisonment, once the sentence has been served, is not pardons: it’s changing our laws to recognize that a debt to society has been paid in full. I sympathize with Obama’s apparent position on this, but he should communicate his own reasons more clearly.
54
Correct. The President may grant pardons before or after conviction and even before any charges have been brought. For example, President Carter's pardon of an unnamed class of Vietnam-era draft evaders --
"Acting pursuant to the grant of authority in Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution of the United States, I, Jimmy Carter, President of the United States, do hereby grant a full, complete and unconditional pardon to: (1) all persons who may have committed any offense between August 4, 1964 and March 28, 1973 in violation of the Military Selective Service Act or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder; and (2) all persons heretofore convicted, irrespective of the date of conviction, of any offense committed between August 4, 1964 and March 28, 1973 in violation of the Military Selective Service Act, or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, restoring to them full political, civil and other rights. . ."
"Acting pursuant to the grant of authority in Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution of the United States, I, Jimmy Carter, President of the United States, do hereby grant a full, complete and unconditional pardon to: (1) all persons who may have committed any offense between August 4, 1964 and March 28, 1973 in violation of the Military Selective Service Act or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder; and (2) all persons heretofore convicted, irrespective of the date of conviction, of any offense committed between August 4, 1964 and March 28, 1973 in violation of the Military Selective Service Act, or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, restoring to them full political, civil and other rights. . ."
1
"The presidential pardon power is NOT dependent on completing a sentence. Nixon, for instance, had served no sentence when he was pardoned by President Ford for Watergate related matters. It may be an understanding that bureaucrats have of how a pardon should be conferred (and I doubt even that), but the pardon is a plenary power of the president, not subject to the interpretation of ANYONE else if he chooses otherwise."
True, that part of the article raised an eyebrow here too. Then again, perhaps it may be some sort of psychological handwave by the NYT to prevent the Rallyist from triggering what I call GPS, Gingrich's Pardon Scenario ( http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2016/12/newt-g... ). If so then I hope the Times succeeds.
"The solution to losing significant attributes of citizenship to conviction of a serious crime and imprisonment, once the sentence has been served, is not pardons: it’s changing our laws to recognize that a debt to society has been paid in full."
Indeed. The good news is that Congress will no longer be deadlocked and can pass those sorts of things again; the bad news is that the GOP in charge supports forever-felons, drug felons, and mass corporate incarceration over sane correction law. That leaves a President to either hold their nose and let Congress end justice, or hold their own and act by executive order and pardon. May Obama do the latter before the twit does the former.
True, that part of the article raised an eyebrow here too. Then again, perhaps it may be some sort of psychological handwave by the NYT to prevent the Rallyist from triggering what I call GPS, Gingrich's Pardon Scenario ( http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2016/12/newt-g... ). If so then I hope the Times succeeds.
"The solution to losing significant attributes of citizenship to conviction of a serious crime and imprisonment, once the sentence has been served, is not pardons: it’s changing our laws to recognize that a debt to society has been paid in full."
Indeed. The good news is that Congress will no longer be deadlocked and can pass those sorts of things again; the bad news is that the GOP in charge supports forever-felons, drug felons, and mass corporate incarceration over sane correction law. That leaves a President to either hold their nose and let Congress end justice, or hold their own and act by executive order and pardon. May Obama do the latter before the twit does the former.
SR:
Don't be too surprised if Republicans, now in the curious position after so long of actually needing to govern (who ... me?), might actually govern wisely. Besides, Trump, decidedly NEITHER a Republican NOR a Democrat, will be there to push them in that direction, and crossing him tends to have the effect of surrendering to him the news cycle, often embarrassingly. You can bet that John Lewis would have preferred to be highly regarded for something OTHER than being a martyr to a big mouth and the innocent conviction that he can attack without consequences.
Don't be too surprised if Republicans, now in the curious position after so long of actually needing to govern (who ... me?), might actually govern wisely. Besides, Trump, decidedly NEITHER a Republican NOR a Democrat, will be there to push them in that direction, and crossing him tends to have the effect of surrendering to him the news cycle, often embarrassingly. You can bet that John Lewis would have preferred to be highly regarded for something OTHER than being a martyr to a big mouth and the innocent conviction that he can attack without consequences.
1
As a nation and as a people, we stop short of unconditionally embracing the principle that a completed prison sentence pays an individuals's debt to society. That is part of what incarceration is supposed to do, but our laws strip even the most remorseful and upstanding penitents of what they need to resume a life as a full citizen.
As the Times suggests, perhaps a better approach would be to present the Oval Office with candidates carefully pre-vetted for pardon by the states or federal agencies that convicted them. It seems unrealistic and impractical to expect a president, given the workload and priorities of the office, to review several thousands of petitioners’ files and make such a weighty decision.
President Obama is a reflective man and a legal scholar, and to all appearances wary of impulsive or subjective decisions. But he has a heart, and he has empathy. So I suspect the problem lies less with him as with the processes that delivered those files his desk
As the Times suggests, perhaps a better approach would be to present the Oval Office with candidates carefully pre-vetted for pardon by the states or federal agencies that convicted them. It seems unrealistic and impractical to expect a president, given the workload and priorities of the office, to review several thousands of petitioners’ files and make such a weighty decision.
President Obama is a reflective man and a legal scholar, and to all appearances wary of impulsive or subjective decisions. But he has a heart, and he has empathy. So I suspect the problem lies less with him as with the processes that delivered those files his desk
161
"perhaps a better approach would be to present the Oval Office with candidates carefully pre-vetted for pardon by the states or federal agencies that convicted them": surely that is what's happening?
Obama admitted to using drugs, even cocaine, he certainly could have been busted and derailed, but for luck. I disagree with some of the other commenters, he's not too busy these days, he should pardon every single non-violent drug "offender."