Presidential pardon

[Pat Mustard]

I don't agree.

Pardons can be used wisely. Guess what this current guy isn't.

The US pardon system is designed to allow the president of the day to help his friends and allies escape the consequences of their criminal acts.

A properly set up pardon system does three things, 1) provide a remedy for the wrongfully convicted wheere it's impossible or too burdensome to go through the courts to gain that remedy 2) to posthumously clear the name of a wrongfully convicted person or 3) to fix the legal consequences of bad law for those convicted of it. The US system really isn't set up to do any of these things.

And even if it were it has none of the features, such as an expert group to investigate matter, limits on what's allowable, an audit system &c., that would allow for proper implementation of such a system.

[Anomalocaris]

It’s an an old archaic, monarchic tradition that has no place in today’s world—it needs to go away.

Nonsense. The power to pardon is often the last possible act of mercy and justice. Naturally, the power gets abused - it’s not unique in that regard - but the notion that the guilty are sometimes let off isn’t a valid reason to close off the final avenue of righting a wrong done to people who should never have been convicted in the first place.

Boru

If the best guaranty of justice is due process, then to say the power of pardon is the last possible power of justice is to say justice is to be sought where it is least likely to be found. 

What power of pardon is meant to enable is the recognition that the interest of the state is not necessarily always the same as the carriage of justice.

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Trump will surely pardon all his cronies between now and January 20.  While the presidential pardon can be a good thing, Trump will abuse the hell out of it.  If he could resurrect Epstein, I am sure he'd be pardoned too.

Can you posthumously pardon someone?  If so, I'm sure that's on his list.

All the more reason why trump and his clan must be made to suffer the full measure of the punishment trump has enabled his cronies to escape.   To ensure this democratic republics any long term future Trump’s fate must be so terrible that its very horror overwhelms any appeal his cronies’ escape from justice might exert on future would be enablers of similar cronies and cronies enablers.

The fact that democrats are already talking about not pursuit trump is prove positive that this republic is so farshaken that even its very best is far from good enough to recognize what is needed to save it, much less actually save it.

[Pat Mustard]

I don't agree.

Pardons can be used wisely. Guess what this current guy isn't.

The US pardon system is designed to allow the president of the day to help his friends and allies escape the consequences of their criminal acts.

A properly set up pardon system does three things, 1) provide a remedy for the wrongfully convicted wheere it's impossible or too burdensome to go through the courts to gain that remedy 2) to posthumously clear the name of a wrongfully convicted person or 3) to fix the legal consequences of bad law for those convicted of it.  The US system really isn't set up to do any of these things.

And even if it were it has none of the features, such as an expert group to investigate matter, limits on what's allowable, an audit system &c., that would allow for proper implementation of such a system.

Actually there is a fourth case where a pardon would be merited, performance of an act to the common good of greater value than that removed by the crime previously committed. Of course this one would have to be the most stringently policed.

[brewer]

I don't agree.

Pardons can be used wisely. Guess what this current guy isn't.

The US pardon system is designed to allow the president of the day to help his friends and allies escape the consequences of their criminal acts.

A properly set up pardon system does three things, 1) provide a remedy for the wrongfully convicted wheere it's impossible or too burdensome to go through the courts to gain that remedy 2) to posthumously clear the name of a wrongfully convicted person or 3) to fix the legal consequences of bad law for those convicted of it.  The US system really isn't set up to do any of these things.

And even if it were it has none of the features, such as an expert group to investigate matter, limits on what's allowable, an audit system &c., that would allow for proper implementation of such a system.

Where does that federal law state anything close to that?

And the pardon system does all three of those things.

This doesn't mean that it can't be abused but your "friends and allies" statement as the only use is incorrect.