tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555502.post2228269702730119628..comments2023-10-30T08:12:13.060-07:00Comments on Thosethingswesay: Let's Change the way pardons are grantedMike M.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14716539792698477275noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555502.post-56046263608447615092007-07-13T06:43:00.000-07:002007-07-13T06:43:00.000-07:00I can think of no good reason why any single gover...I can think of no good reason why any single government employee (including the president) should have the power to pardon anyone. I'd go along with giving the president the power to appoint a new judge and reopen a case if he thinks the law has been abused, but in my opinion, a presidential pardon without some kind of judicial review IS an abuse.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555502.post-12863036013714635062007-07-10T07:27:00.000-07:002007-07-10T07:27:00.000-07:00I'm not sure the problem requires a rule change. T...I'm not sure the problem requires a rule change. The whole point of the power to pardon or grant clemency is that sometimes it's important to have at least one person who can grant mercy not available within the system. That provides a slight but welcome protection against gross miscarriages of justice. And since the power is only to free (rather than to convict) it accords with the presumption of innocence that undergirds our justice system.<BR/><BR/>Of course, having a chance to step outside the system raises the possibility of abuse. In general, I'm okay with that risk when the worst consequence is that somebody gets out of jail. But this administration has proven over and over again that it will distort the spirit and letter of any and all laws to get what it wants. Moreover, it has proven over and over again that it will simply ignore laws, including the Constitution which it ostensibly hires strict constructionists to stick to so closely. (See all the recent journalistic investigations of how Cheney operates.) So I don't think there's a pardon system in the world that could preserve the flexibility necessary to make it an actual pardon system while at the same time having enough restrictions to prevent this administration from violating the trust of the American people. Give them an inch, and they'll send a mile to be tortured in Egypt.Jon E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07879175378866305992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555502.post-46460121286776000102007-07-10T07:23:00.000-07:002007-07-10T07:23:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jon E.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07879175378866305992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7555502.post-1655312089463266802007-07-04T14:05:00.000-07:002007-07-04T14:05:00.000-07:00Thosethingswesay's Mike Makes Time's Cox chuckle.T...Thosethingswesay's Mike Makes Time's Cox chuckle.<BR/><BR/>Thanks.political junkiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07141119327627693882noreply@blogger.com