1. Fuck all of my progressive friends and allies who are attacking this governor who perhaps with one exception used the pardon power as it SHOULD BE USED.
*You my friends and allies are exhibiting the very worst of the politics of mass incarceration. Shame on you.
*You my friends and allies are exhibiting the very worst of the politics of mass incarceration. Shame on you.
2. If you want to take issue with a pardon where there is some specific allegation of corruption — and there appears to be at least one where there is an allegation of a donor getting favorable treatment — that’s fine. Go for it.
3. But on their face at least the overwhelming majority of these 400+ clemency grants — at least 99% — seem totally legit. And PARDONS/COMMUTATIONS ARE AFFIRMATIVELY GOOD THINGS AND WE NEED OODLES AND OODLES MORE OF THEM.
5. This ignores the nature and purpose of the pardon power, and it erases the important role that the pardon power has played in our nation’s political and legal culture throughout its history.
6. The framers of the constitution and of many state constitutions recognized the inherent tendency of the criminal justice system to over-punish and make mistakes. They created the pardon power as a check on those foibles of the human condition.
7. The pardon power also recognizes the beautiful and mysterious human capacity to have hope, to grow and change, to transform oneself, to be born again, to become rehabilitated, to seek redemption.
8. And the pardon power used to be used MUCH MUCH more frequently than it is today — even when the criminal justice system was a tiny fraction of its current size. Governors used to use it all the tine, 100s, even 1000s of times throughout their time in office.
9. And it was not at all unusual — in fact it was quite common — for people who had committed the most serious crimes, including murder and rape, to get commutations. Prior to the era of mass incarceration, the pardon power was thought to be a core function of the executive.
10. I see people objecting to Governor Bevin’s use of the pardon power in a case of a man with an innocence claim, where prosecutors opposed DNA testing, where the guy has already served 25 years. I mean that is precisely the kind of situation the pardon power was made for!
11. Similarly I see people merely reciting the facts of a rape or murder case — as though the crimes themselves are sufficient to show the illegitimacy of Bevins use of the power. But that gets it exactly wrong.
12. It may be that the crimes committed were serious. But that alone says nothing about the legitimacy of the pardon. It may be that someone committed an awful crime *and that person may be over-punished or become rehabilitated.
13. In fact that happens all the time, but tragically during the era of mass incarceration we are so stuck in our position of anger and vengeance that we wildly over punish people and then have refused to consider their transformation and rehabilitation.
14. Again, if there are more allegations of specific corruption or pay-for-play, then of course go ahead and criticize the pardon. (Though do so, recognizing thae broader context/role that money plays in absolutely every aspect of our political life.)
15. But the mere fact that a jury voted to convict doesn’t mean the recipient isn’t innocent. And the mere fact the crime was serious doesn’t mean that recipient isn’t over punished or rehabilitated.
16. The truth is our criminal justice system needs colossally more mercy. When compared to most other countries and to our nation’s own history our criminal sentences for even the most serious crimes are excessive. That is one of the hallmarks of mass incarceration.
17. A far, far more vigorous system of clemency can and frankly must be an a core part of any serious effort to end mass incarceration — or we will never end it in our lifetimes. The cynical politics and journalism of fear must end.
