With Bush leaving office, talk about federal pardons is heating up. Apparently, Bush has used his pardon less than any other President in recent memory. So he is, of course, being criticized both for his choice of pardons, and for not using his pardon powers enough.
Despite its potential for abuse, I like the executive pardon power. At it's best it speaks of mercy and the ability for an unfathomably huge bureaucracy to act in an intimately compassionate way. And, we get a little taste of what it might be like to have a King!
Anyway, what I really wanted to do was link to this. If you're short on time, skip down to the section called "Still in Prison" for some disturbing examples of people who should probably be pardoned, or at least have their sentences commuted.
Reminds me how thankful I am I didn't get into the lobster business.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I'm gonna read that article, and comment again... I just wanted to say how A) stoked I am that you actually blogged again. B) how dissapointed I am that your guilty pleasures poll is a dead tie. You gotta do something about that Joe. Have some control!
Yeah ... what happened to a "kinder gentler nation"?
Seems like a no-brainer way to improve his ratings while also doing some good. I have to wonder if the "criminals" are actually suspected of far greater crimes, but since when did we jail people because we suspected them of a crime we couldn't prove.
So I randomly found your wife through one blog and was thrilled and now I randomly find your blog through another blog (Who knew you knew freshman friend Wendy Weiler?). And I thought, "That's why I pay tithing. For the blessings. Blog surfing blessings."
Good to find you Joseph Blayne Plicka (I always spelled your middle name with a Y). I hope you and Emily are fantastic.
Can I start calling you Blayne?
Yes. Yes you can. I say yes.
Oh man (I find myself saying that more & more often), our criminal justice system is a mess. I followed your link and it is disturbing. I agree absolutely that Bush should use his pardon power.
The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world: 737 persons imprisoned per 100,000 (as of 2005), and incarcerates more of its youth than any other country in the world.
Post a Comment