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Historical evidence that it is NOT too early to start demanding clemencies from President Obama

By Douglas A. Berman

Over at the Pardon Power, P.S. Ruckman has two amazing posts here and here detailing for all the Presidents "the number of days between inauguration or the assumption of office (via death or resignation) and their very first pardon as President of the United States."  The data show that President Obama is already on the verge of being behind the historical curve: roughly half of all Presidents granted their first pardons within their first two weeks in office!  Of course, 100 days is a widely-used marker for the Presidential honeymoon, and the data show that all but eight Presidents granted clemency within the first 100 days.  Disappointingly, even as the federal criminal justice system has grown enormously over the last two decade, three presidents who have been among the slowest in using this power of mercy were President Clinton and both Presidents Bush...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on January 29, 2009 (boomark / email).