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Article: Executive clemency in the United States: origins, development, and analysis. (1900-1993)
- Article from:
- Presidential Studies Quarterly
- Article date:
- March 22, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 Center for the Study of the Presidency. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The Constitution vests the President of the United States with "power to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment" (art. ii, sec. 2). The granting of pardons, reprieves, and other manifestations of the clemency power have been variously described as "entirely discretionary,"(1) "unilateral," "notoriously non-reciprocal,"(2) "virtually unassailable,"(3) "absolute,"(4) and "perhaps the most imperial" of presidential, powers.(5) On the other hand, these powers have also been described as "anomalous,"(6) "delicate,"(7) "shrouded in mystery," and "fraught with arbitrariness at a time when other aspects of our judicial ...