Presidential pardons

[Coder]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/12/...ex.html?hpt=C1

Then, in 2005, he applied for a gun permit and found out for the first time he had a felony conviction. He applied for a presidential pardon, which was officially granted Friday, in the first round of pardons during Obama's administration.

Don't know much about Presidential Pardons, but it seems a bit ridiculous that one has to appeal to the POTUS to get something stupid like this fixed.

Also seems a bit disconcerting to see the list of others that were pardoned. I'm sure that there are reasonable reasons that these were done, right?

The following individuals were pardoned by Obama:

-- James Bernard Banks of Liberty, Utah, who was sentenced in 1972 to two years' probation for illegal possession of government property;

-- Russell James Dixon of Clayton, Georgia, who received two years' probation in 1960 for a felony liquor violation;

-- Laurens Dorsey of Syracuse, New York, who was sentenced in 1998 to five years' probation and required to pay $71,000 restitution for making false statements to the Food and Drug Administration;

-- Timothy James Gallagher of Navasota, Texas, who was sentenced in 1982 to three years' probation for possession and conspiracy to distribute cocaine;

-- Roxane Kay Hettinger of Powder Springs, Georgia, who was sentenced in 1986 to 30 days in jail and three years of probation for conspiracy to distribute cocaine;

-- Edgar Leopold Kranz Jr. of Minot, North Dakota, who received a bad conduct military discharge in 1994 for wrongful use of cocaine, adultery and writing three insufficient fund checks;

-- Floretta Leavy of Rockford, Illinois, who was sentenced in 1984 to one year and one day in prison -- along with three years on parole -- for distribution and possession of cocaine, as well as possession of marijuana with intent to distribute; and

-- Scoey Lathaniel Morris of Crosby, Texas, who was sentenced in 1999 to three years' probation and required to pay $1,200 in restitution for passing counterfeit obligations or securities.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[PSLOwner]

Lots of interesting stuff in google on the history of presidential pardons going all the back to Washington. Some are much deserved, some are flat out farces.

[OldVet]

I think I'd know if I had a felony conviction. Presidential pardons are too often politically motivated or a reward of the "good old boy" system.

[Hopyard]

Too few pardons are issued in comparison to the very very large number of people who have been convicted. A pardon doesn't mean they haven't done it. It means they have been forgiven. There are huge numbers of cases where the convictions are questionable, where the convicted individual later leads an exemplary life, and where compassion and mercy can be appropriately shown.

I have always been fond of the story told of President Lincoln. A soldier had been convicted of falling asleep while on duty. The case reached President's Lincoln's desk without the usual pile of letters from friends, supporters, relatives, clergy, all testifying to the goodness of the convicted and praying for a pardon. Mr. Lincoln asked of his aid, "has this man no friends?" The aid answered, affirmatively. Lincoln then spoke up and said, "then I shall be his friend." He issued the pardon.

Note that in this instance no one disputed the guilt. No one disputed that punishment for the offense was appropriate. The pardon was a generous act of mercy. Our Presidents should show more of that--- if they continue to insist that they are "compassionate conservatives" or that they are "Christians" or that they care deeply about "The American people."

[Xader]

A lot of coke users getting pardoned...

[Ram Rod]

Presidential pardons

Powers granted the president under the constitution
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/proj...respowers.html
Good info:
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/thepre...respardons.htm
The laws are twisted in ways we would have never imagined. Even the forefathers of this country couldn't rule it out in words alone. Those days when thoughts and intent were pure have long been forgotten or so screwed up by the legal community (remember...the country we got away from and out of tyranny educated the first lawyers) England. We may have put our foot down and sent them back home. America has always been a target from foreign lands because of our freedom and what we did to make this the best place on earth and free ourselves from BS. Now...we not only have to fight abroad to keep the principles alive, but we fight here at home amongst ourselves for the same rights granted by our initial insurrection. Something's wrong with America......and that makes us an easy target. America is still worth fighting for and dying for. Thing is..each passing day more and more feel less like it's worth it and succumb to the illegal politics purveyed because they know not from which this country was created. We're not willing to fight anymore or speak out. We'd rather have our creature comforts than worry about such trivial things as blood lost for our own rights to be here and those who died with the knowledge that America would always be as it were made to be.
Presidential pardons are illegal in my book. Many presidential powers have grown in the past century.....out of what? A loophole in the law? Get real!
What I despise most these days is the unwillingness to work as a team since most folks focus on what makes a direct impact on their lives. We're selfish now as a society. My outlook every day summons the power of those who laid down their lives for this nation to be something better than it is today. Every once in a while, my facial expression is one of disgust of what's become.

[Xader]

Presidential pardons are illegal in my book.

Does that extend to gubernatorial pardons as well?

[Ram Rod]

Does that extend to gubernatorial pardons as well?

I'd say that goes for any "presidential pardon" in my book. Power not given but created out of nothing. Extensions? A lot of 'presidential powers' interpreted don't even exist. The American public places some power behind them since they don't know the facts. This is why we are where we are now. Uneducated in ways that let the power take over us. This was never meant to be. Each and every stage of our government was designed with a check and balance system. The presidential powers are limited under the constitution plain and simple. The supreme court has never laid down anything different concerning this and they never will to my thinking. As human beings on this earth, we'll always be subject to those who think they have power. Any power they think they have is always given. They will never attain power unto themselves since they prey on the weaknesses of the masses. Engineers of the downfall. Government weakens us to the point of no argument.

[Hopyard]

Ram Rod expressed his belief that pardons are illegal, yet he posted from our Constitution this section.
"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.

Bold part makes clear the pardon power is in fact granted to the Prez by our constitution.

In other words, anyone convicted of any Federal crime, an offense against the United States by definition, may be pardoned. That power is granted absolutely and with no qualifications by our Constitution.

Sorry, the granting of pardons is not illegal as asserted, and it is not the usurpation of power by The Executive.

[Coder]

Here are more details about the person in Utah who was pardoned.

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=13525986

Banks, 66, a member of the Ogden Valley Planning Commission, said his conviction stemmed from a 1972 incident while he was 27 and employed as a maintenance mechanic at Hill Air Force Base.

He admitted putting some plywood and nails into his vehicle and driving off the base. He was arrested just outside the gate by the FBI. Banks lost two days pay, and was sentenced to two years of probation. But he kept his job at Hill, where he worked for 29 years.

The items taken by Banks were valued at less than $100, said Melodie Rydalch, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Salt Lake City.

Banks initially thought the conviction would result in only a minor blemish on his record, but was surprised to learn a decade ago that it prevented him from buying a handgun.

What makes me grumpy is that we have to go all the way to the POTUS to fix stupid.

[CCWFlaRuger]

Whats with all the Coke dealers, Barak?

[Sig 210]

Whats with all the Coke dealers, Barak?

+1
Barak is setting a fine example by pardoning a bunch of dope peddlers.

[Rock and Glock]

Trolling for voters.........Hahahahahahahahahaha

[wjh2657]

I am sure George W. Bush never pardoned a dope dealer.

He did, a bunch of them and a whole room full of bootleggers and moonshiners.

All of the presidents have pardoned a lot of people that committed drug and alcohol felonies. President Obama is way behind the other presidents in the numbers.

No, I am not a Liberal or a Democrat. But I am not a lying Republican either. I'm just an Independent tired of lies from both parties.

There never has been a rhyme or reason behind Presidential and Gubernatorial pardons.

[regineD]

Pardon is really a generous act of mercy. Whoever committed a crime, may it be an ordinary citizen or with high position in the society should pay for it. Pardon are given only to those who are really deserving.The President has pardoned many convicted crooks. The list was unveiled on Monday. It is the 3rd such list he has developed during his administration. Five people, charged of several crimes, were pardoned. The chief executive also commuted 1 sentence. In the past, the presidential ability to grant pardons has come under fire. Read the article here: Obama grants presidential pardons for five, commutes one