A Pardon Primer
Article II, of the Constitution provides the president with the power to grant pardons and reprieves when the laws of the United States have been violated - which is to say "federal" law. The United States Supreme Court, however, has interpreted the language of the Constitution to included several forms of the clemency power including: pardons, conditional pardons, commutations, conditional commutations, remissions, reprieves, respites, and amnesties (group or general pardons). Originally, clemency paperwork was considered part of the domain of the State Department. Over time, the paperwork was shifted to the Department of Justice and the Office of the Pardon Attorney.
It is increasingly difficult to generalize about the number of petitions for pardons and commutations that the Office of the Pardon Attorney receives each year, because of sharp increases in recent administrations. A chart of petitions from 1945 to 2006 can be seen here. The number of petitions received each year does not, however, reflect the total workload of the Office. Each year, a number of applications are left pending, and thus carry over into the next year. A chart of trends in pending applications for the same time period can be seen here. Notice the scale (at the top left hand corner) is much higher for the second chart than it was for the first. As a result, the total workload of the Office per fiscal year (new petitions and cases pending) looks something like this.
There are three possible outcomes associated with clemency applications which are addressed by the Office. Applications are 1) granted 2) denied 3) or closed without presidential action. The remaining cases are carried over to the next fiscal year as pending. I have charted the number of applications which have been addressed per fiscal year from 1945 to 2006 here. As can be seen, the Office addressed somewhere between 200 and 1,000 applications for most of the period. At the far right side, it is clear that it has addressed more applications in recent years.
These data are more meaningful - or can be more meaningful - if we compare the number of applications that were addressed to the total workload of the Office in each fiscal year. I have provided the data on both concerns here. As can be seen, the gap between the total workload line and the cases addressed line is fairly consistent across the chart, but starts to widen considerable around 1991. This is consistent with previous data presented on the number of cases which are pending at the end of the term.
But what about the cases that are addressed? What percentage of those cases involve applications which are 1) granted 2) denied or 3) closed without presidential action? The vast majority of applications addressed have fallen into categories 2) and 3). In this next chart, I have presented the total number of applications which were acted upon and blackened out the number of that total which were denied or closed. In other words, where there is more blue, a larger number of pardons and commutations were granted. Where there is more black, more applications were denied or closed. The chart can be seen here and the trend is stark. The blue area decreases to almost nothing as one moves from left to right.
As the vast majority of clemency applications that are addressed per fiscal year are denied or closed without presidential action, the ratio of grants to denials and closures is somewhat wide. In recent years, however, the gap between the two has widened even more. I have charted them together here. By now, what should be really be standing out to the readers of this string in the blog is this: the number of applications that result in a grant of clemency has always been relatively small (especially in comparison to the Office of the Pardon Attorney's workload - see chart here) and, in recent years, that number has been getting smaller and smaller.
If there is anything more unusual than a grant of clemency in general, it would be a commutation of sentence. Such actions are rarely taken by presidents and, for whatever reason(s) have, at least arguably, become a non-factor in clemency decision making. Today, most grants of clemency are pardons to restore civil rights. I have charted pardons and commutations together here.
These data would suggest that the seemingly irresistible tendency to portray Scooter Libby's commutation of sentence as "unusual" was a mere exercise in truism. Any commutation of sentence is a rarity. Yes, it is true that Bush's commutation came before Libby served a single day in prison, a feature of the decision that was truly "unprecedented" in the history of clemency ... unless you have heard of Dr. Francis Townsend, Philip Grossman, Dr. Thomas J. Kemp, Charles L. Craig, etc.
Interestingly, there was a time when commutations were granted as frequently as - or more than - pardon (see chart here)
SUMMARY: Based on the current administration, the Office of the Pardon Attorney receives about 1,100 to 1,900 new clemency applications per fiscal year. These levels are certainly the highest since 1945. But there has been an even more impressive increase in the number of applications that are left pending at the beginning of each fiscal year - a trend that started, at least arguably, in the early years of the Clinton administration. As a result, the workload of the Office is much, much greater than it has ever been. For the most part of the last fifty years, the Office of the Pardon Attorney has addressed (granted, denied or closed) 400 to 1,000 clemency applications per fiscal year. This number has increased in recent years, but the gap between the number of cases addressed and the total workload of the Office has continued to increase since 1991. Among those applications which are addressed in a fiscal year, the vast majority are denied or closed without president action. The vast majority of clemency applications which are acted upon by the Office of the Pardon Attorney are denied or closed without presidential action. In addition the number of cases handled in this manner is increasing while, at the same time, the number of applications resulting in a grant of clemency is decreasing. As a result, for every single grant of clemency, there are literally hundreds of denials or closures. Compared to the total workload of the Office, the number of grants per fiscal year is barely noticeable in recent administrations. Likewise, most grants of clemency involve pardon after sentences have been served to restore civil rights. Commutations of sentence are rarely granted.
It is increasingly difficult to generalize about the number of petitions for pardons and commutations that the Office of the Pardon Attorney receives each year, because of sharp increases in recent administrations. A chart of petitions from 1945 to 2006 can be seen here. The number of petitions received each year does not, however, reflect the total workload of the Office. Each year, a number of applications are left pending, and thus carry over into the next year. A chart of trends in pending applications for the same time period can be seen here. Notice the scale (at the top left hand corner) is much higher for the second chart than it was for the first. As a result, the total workload of the Office per fiscal year (new petitions and cases pending) looks something like this.
There are three possible outcomes associated with clemency applications which are addressed by the Office. Applications are 1) granted 2) denied 3) or closed without presidential action. The remaining cases are carried over to the next fiscal year as pending. I have charted the number of applications which have been addressed per fiscal year from 1945 to 2006 here. As can be seen, the Office addressed somewhere between 200 and 1,000 applications for most of the period. At the far right side, it is clear that it has addressed more applications in recent years.
These data are more meaningful - or can be more meaningful - if we compare the number of applications that were addressed to the total workload of the Office in each fiscal year. I have provided the data on both concerns here. As can be seen, the gap between the total workload line and the cases addressed line is fairly consistent across the chart, but starts to widen considerable around 1991. This is consistent with previous data presented on the number of cases which are pending at the end of the term.
But what about the cases that are addressed? What percentage of those cases involve applications which are 1) granted 2) denied or 3) closed without presidential action? The vast majority of applications addressed have fallen into categories 2) and 3). In this next chart, I have presented the total number of applications which were acted upon and blackened out the number of that total which were denied or closed. In other words, where there is more blue, a larger number of pardons and commutations were granted. Where there is more black, more applications were denied or closed. The chart can be seen here and the trend is stark. The blue area decreases to almost nothing as one moves from left to right.
As the vast majority of clemency applications that are addressed per fiscal year are denied or closed without presidential action, the ratio of grants to denials and closures is somewhat wide. In recent years, however, the gap between the two has widened even more. I have charted them together here. By now, what should be really be standing out to the readers of this string in the blog is this: the number of applications that result in a grant of clemency has always been relatively small (especially in comparison to the Office of the Pardon Attorney's workload - see chart here) and, in recent years, that number has been getting smaller and smaller.
If there is anything more unusual than a grant of clemency in general, it would be a commutation of sentence. Such actions are rarely taken by presidents and, for whatever reason(s) have, at least arguably, become a non-factor in clemency decision making. Today, most grants of clemency are pardons to restore civil rights. I have charted pardons and commutations together here.
These data would suggest that the seemingly irresistible tendency to portray Scooter Libby's commutation of sentence as "unusual" was a mere exercise in truism. Any commutation of sentence is a rarity. Yes, it is true that Bush's commutation came before Libby served a single day in prison, a feature of the decision that was truly "unprecedented" in the history of clemency ... unless you have heard of Dr. Francis Townsend, Philip Grossman, Dr. Thomas J. Kemp, Charles L. Craig, etc.
Interestingly, there was a time when commutations were granted as frequently as - or more than - pardon (see chart here)
SUMMARY: Based on the current administration, the Office of the Pardon Attorney receives about 1,100 to 1,900 new clemency applications per fiscal year. These levels are certainly the highest since 1945. But there has been an even more impressive increase in the number of applications that are left pending at the beginning of each fiscal year - a trend that started, at least arguably, in the early years of the Clinton administration. As a result, the workload of the Office is much, much greater than it has ever been. For the most part of the last fifty years, the Office of the Pardon Attorney has addressed (granted, denied or closed) 400 to 1,000 clemency applications per fiscal year. This number has increased in recent years, but the gap between the number of cases addressed and the total workload of the Office has continued to increase since 1991. Among those applications which are addressed in a fiscal year, the vast majority are denied or closed without president action. The vast majority of clemency applications which are acted upon by the Office of the Pardon Attorney are denied or closed without presidential action. In addition the number of cases handled in this manner is increasing while, at the same time, the number of applications resulting in a grant of clemency is decreasing. As a result, for every single grant of clemency, there are literally hundreds of denials or closures. Compared to the total workload of the Office, the number of grants per fiscal year is barely noticeable in recent administrations. Likewise, most grants of clemency involve pardon after sentences have been served to restore civil rights. Commutations of sentence are rarely granted.
posted by P.S. Ruckman, Jr. | 11:56 AM
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