America Needs Clemency Reform

No one person should have the power to issue pardons or paroles.

May 29, 2025

Greetings, Y’all!

In light of the various pardons that have been issued by Presidents of the United States, I have been giving a lot of thought to the need to reform the current system of clemency.

Per Article II, Section 2, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution:

The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.

In 1974, after Richard Nixon resigned as President of the United States (POTUS), Vice President Gerald Ford assumed the presidency. One of his first acts as POTUS was to issue a pardon to Nixon in the name of “compassion and a step in moving the country beyond Watergate.”1 After issuing this pardon, Ford received serious blowback from the majority of the public who still wanted Nixon to be held accountable.2

After the Civil War, Andrew Johnson “began issuing blanket pardons. First, in 1865, he approved a measure that excluded large landowners and Confederate officials. Later that year, he began issuing individual pardons to those very same Confederate elites when they applied personally to the president. Finally, in 1868, he issued a full pardon to all remaining individuals who had participated in the Confederacy, without requiring an oath or application.”3

Joe Biden pardoned his son Hunter, “sparing the younger Biden a possible prison sentence for federal felony gun and tax convictions” despite earlier promises of not using his office for the benefit of his family.4

Bill Clinton pardoned his half-brother Roger who had been convicted on cocaine distribution charges.5

While the Biden and Clinton pardons may have been well-meaning, I argue that such pardons give a perception of a conflict of interest. In the cases of the pardons issued by Ford and Johnson, their respective pardons did nothing (IMHO) to heal the nation and shielded the affected individuals from being brought to justice for their crimes against the United States.

In 1943, the State of Georgia amended its constitution to remove the pardon power from the hands of the governor and instead place it into a State Board of Pardons and Paroles. According to their website, “there were serious questions raised about the handling of pardons by some Governors' offices. Public concern led the General Assembly to enact legislation, signed into law in February 1943, which created the State Board of Pardons and Paroles as an independent agency to administer executive clemency.”6

According to Article IV, Section II, Paragraph 1 of the Georgia State Constitution:

“There shall be a State Board of Pardons and Paroles which shall consist of five members appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate. The members of the board in office on June 30, 1983, shall serve out the remainder of their respective terms, provided that the expiration date of the term of any such member shall be December 31 of the year in which the member's term expires. As each term of office expires, the Governor shall appoint a successor as herein provided. All such terms of members shall be for seven years. A chairman shall be selected by the members of the board from its membership.”7

To minimize controversy regarding federal-level clemency, I propose the following amendment to the U.S. Constitution:

The Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States shall be vested in an independent board consisting of five (5) members, all of whom shall be appointed by the President of the United States for one and only one term of ten (10) years. All such appointed individuals shall each be subject to confirmation by the Senate and shall be allowed to serve their full terms of office without outside interference.”

Per Article V of the U.S. Constitution, “an amendment may be proposed either by the Congress with a two-thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate or by a constitutional convention called for by two-thirds of the State legislatures” and “becomes part of the Constitution as soon as it is ratified by three-fourths of the States (38 of 50 States).”8

While I believe our founding fathers had the best of intentions in granting the POTUS clemency power, I believe it is time that we, the people, reign in this power once and for all to assure that any clemency issued by the federal government is done in a fair, honest, and equitable manner without any perception of favoritism.

Congress, if you are reading this, please, for the sake of the American people and the integrity of our justice system, pass this proposed amendment.

States, once you receive this amendment, please, again for the sake of the American people and the integrity of our justice system, quickly ratify accordingly.

Those are my thoughts. What do you think? (Please refrain from personal attacks.)

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Until next time, please be kind, compassionate, and respectful to one another, may God bless you and yours, and may God Bless America!

Steve's Random Thoughts

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