The Presidential Pardon by Saikrishna Bangalore Prakash

Description

The power of the pardon goes back to Ancient Roman times, if not earlier, and has become a political tool that is often viewed by the public as being used improperly to release certain individuals for political reasons or to release those convicted of certain heinous crimes. It was not always this way, as readers learn in this slim but dense book about the power of the pardon and how it has changed over the past 250-plus years.

The author is a noted law professor and takes the general reader on a tour of where the pardon power came from, how it has worked in the past, and how it has been changed over time. One thing he does note is that after President Ford pardoned President Nixon, many people viewed the issuing of pardons as protecting friends from any potential prosecution, though it was not always that way.

This book is designed for the well-educated reader, as it sometimes gets bogged down in legal jargon that may be beyond the ability of some readers to understand in an otherwise highly informative work.