Friday, October 17, 2008

Texas leads in geography of Bush pardons

Declaring that, "The quality of mercy is not strained but its geography is notable," Doc Berman points to this excellent post from Pardon Power documenting President Bush's use of executive clemency by state. Texas tops the list with 17, followed by Florida at 10.

Pardon Power also has a Watch List compiling possible Presidential pardons in the closing days of the Bush Administration, including a pair of Texan athletes - Roger Clemens and Marion Jones - and two Border Patrol agents convicted of shooting an unarmed, fleeing suspect in Texas' Southern District.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Funny how it is Texas and Florida huh? Ole' Georgie and Jeb... shoot, who could have picked that one huh? Yeah I know Jeb isn't there anymore, but his cronies still are... And Mark Foley has to have someone to help him hide the evidence.

All I can say about the whole mess is. Glad Bush is leaving. Hopefully the war crimes trials will begin soon...

Anonymous said...

So what's the point of this post?

Gritsforbreakfast said...

To direct readers to Texas-specific criminal justice data compiled by Pardon Power that I found interesting and hadn't seen before - e.g., I'd not considered which Texans might be up for last-minute Presidential pardons.

What's the point of your question?

Anonymous said...

My point is this is not shocking or surprising. This is old news in the sense that all outgoing Presidents grant commutations and pardons. However, that does not make it right.

I just thought you might have prefaced your post with some background information regarding the antics of other past office holders.

And by the way, I'm not affiliated with any political party when I mention that President Clinton granted pardons to 20 Texans and 15Arkansans when he vacated the White House.

P.S. Ruckman, Jr. said...

I would agree that it is not shocking or surprising, but only in the sense that we (you and I) have no point of comparison, despite your claim that we do. No one has ever researched the state-wide distribution of pardons in presidential administrations. "Old news?" I don't think so.

Anonymous said...

Well apparently I do have it and according to you, you don't. It's not that difficult to research.

P.S. Ruckman, Jr. said...

Not that difficult? Really? So, how many people did Jimmy Carter pardon from Georgia?

Gritsforbreakfast said...

Re: "I just thought you might have prefaced your post with some background information regarding the antics of other past office holders."

That, amigo, is why God created blogs' comments section.

Re: "It's not that difficult to research," I'd reply A) I doubt it - please point me to links to your research on the topic. And B) what is your point? This is a two paragraph blog post. Perhaps your expectations are a little high.

If you can do better, by all means launch your own blog. Prof. Ruckman and I are doing the best we can.

Anonymous said...

I know I'm a little late in reading these comments and this blog. I wrote to President Bush on July 8, 2008 requesting a pardon for my spouse who has spent 14 useless years behind bars so far, for an alleged sexual assault without penetration. No DNA evidence. I was sent a letter telling me what I did was against the law and I could be proesecuted. That presidential pardons are not given to "State" inmates only federal inmates. It was up to the State of Texas to Pardon my loved one. And we all know how Governor Perry is. He was reluctant to pardon that young man who was given a life sentence Marijuana in his urine.