pardon

—pardonable, adj. —pardonableness, n. —pardonably, adv. —pardonless, adj.

/pahr"dn/, n.

1. kind indulgence, as in forgiveness of an offense or discourtesy or in tolerance of a distraction or inconvenience: I beg your pardon, but which way is Spruce Street?

2. Law.

a. a release from the penalty of an offense; a remission of penalty, as by a governor.

b. the document by which such remission is declared.

3. forgiveness of a serious offense or offender.

4. Obs. a papal indulgence.

v.t.

5. to make courteous allowance for or to excuse: Pardon me, madam.

6. to release (a person) from liability for an offense.

7. to remit the penalty of (an offense): The governor will not pardon your crime.

interj.

8. (used, with rising inflection, as an elliptical form of I beg your pardon, as when asking a speaker to repeat something not clearly heard or understood.)

[1250-1300; ME (n. and v.) < OF pardon (n.) remission, indulgence, n. deriv. of pardoner (v.) < ML perdonare to remit, overlook, lit., to forgive, equiv. to L per- FOR- (see PER-) + donare to give; see DONATE; ML v. perh. a trans. from Gmc]

Syn. 3. absolution, remission. PARDON, AMNESTY, REPRIEVE are nouns referring to the cancellation, or delay with the possibility of eventual cancellation, of a punishment or penalty assigned for the violation of a military regulation or a civil law; absolution from guilt is not implied, merely a remission of the penalty. A PARDON is granted to an individual, often by the action of a government official such as a governor, president, or monarch, and releases the individual from any punishment due for the infraction of the law, as a death sentence, prison term, or fine: to be released from prison with a full pardon.

An AMNESTY is a pardon granted to a group of persons for past offenses against a government; it often includes an assurance of no future prosecution: to grant amnesty to political prisoners; an amnesty period for delinquent taxpayers during which no penalties are assessed. A REPRIEVE is a delay of impending punishment, especially a death sentence; it does not cancel or remit the punishment, it simply delays it, usually for a specific period of time or until a decision can be arrived at as to the possibility of pardon or reduction of sentence: a last-minute reprieve, allowing the filing of an appeal to the Supreme Court. 6. acquit, clear. See excuse. 7. forgive, absolve, condone, overlook.

Ant. 5. censure, blame.

* * *

In law, release from guilt or remission of punishment.

The power to pardon is generally exercised by the state's chief executive officer. A pardon may be full or conditional. A conditional pardon imposes a lesser punishment or some other obligation. Some states still bar pardoned offenders from holding public office or obtaining professional licenses.

* * *

▪ law

      in law, release from guilt or remission of punishment. In criminal law the power of pardon is generally exercised by the chief executive officer of the state. Pardons may also be granted by a legislative body, often through an act of indemnity, anticipatory or retrospective, for things done in the public interest that are illegal.

      A pardon may be full or conditional. It is conditional when its effectiveness depends on fulfillment of a condition by the offender, usually a lesser punishment, as in the commutation of the death sentence.

      The effect of a full pardon is unclear in some jurisdictions. In England it is said that a full pardon clears the person from all infamy, removing all disqualifications and other obloquy, so that a pardoned person may take action for defamation against anyone who thereafter refers to him as a convict. In the United States the matter is much less clear, although the Supreme Court has held that a pardon blots out guilt and makes the offender “as innocent as if he had never committed the offense.” Some states in the United States have held that a pardon does not remove the disqualification from holding public office and that a pardoned offender may still be refused a license to engage in a business or profession. The difficulty stems from lack of differentiation between pardons granted for reasons of clemency and those granted from a belief in the accused's innocence. Continental European and Latin-American countries generally have detailed statutory provisions governing the law of pardon.

* * *