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pardon definition
1) v. to use the executive power of a Governor or President to forgive a person
convicted of a crime, thus removing any remaining penalties or punishments and preventing
any new prosecution of the person for the crime for which the pardon was given.
A pardon strikes the conviction from the books as if it had never occurred, and
the convicted person is treated as innocent. Sometimes pardons are given to an older
rehabilitated person long after the sentence has been served to clear his/her record.
However, a pardon can also terminate a sentence and free a prisoner when the chief
executive is convinced there is doubt about the guilt or fairness of the trial,
the party is rehabilitated and has performed worthy public service, or there are
humanitarian rea-sons such as terminal illness. The most famous American pardon
was the blanket pardon given by President Gerald Ford to ex-President Richard Nixon
in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Nixon's resignation; that pardon closed
the door to any future prosecu- tion against Nixon for any crime before the pardon.
A pardon is distinguished from "a commutation of sentence" which cuts short the
term; "a reprieve," which is a temporary halt to punishment, particularly the death
penalty, pend- ing appeal or determination of whether the penalty should be reduced;
"amnesty," which is a blanket "forgetting" of possible criminal charges due to a
change in public circumstances (such as the end of a war or the draft system); or
a "reduction in sentence," which shortens a sentence and can be granted by a judge
or an executive.
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