Turkey Spared -- But Obama's Compassion For Humans Comes Up Short
In one of the White House's sillier annual rituals, Barack Obama on Wednesday pardoned the second Thanksgiving turkey of his presidency.
He has, however, yet to pardon a single human.
A president's power to grant clemency is broad, unilateral and absolute. Obama, a constitutional lawyer by training, and the first African-American president, could issue pardons and commutations that make a powerful statement about the justice system past and present.
Indeed, presidents have a responsibility to use their pardon power to correct the excesses and errors of a system that is inevitably imperfect, often overloaded, and especially in this era of mandatory sentences, overly rigid.
Obama's grants could speak volumes about fairness, forgiveness, rehabilitation and renewal. He could restore rights, right wrongs, and bring freedom to the unduly oppressed.
But he chooses not to.
And it's not just that he hasn't gotten around to it, either. In October, he formally denied 71 pardon requests and 605 commutation requests sent over by the Justice Department for his consideration.
Link:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/24/turkey-spared-but-obamas-_n_788073.html
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