Does Race Affect Presidential Pardons? One Study Thinks So

SCHENECTADY, NY, March 22, 2012

Few people think about presidential pardons in racial terms. Even fewer people think about presidential pardons at all. But in a recent two-part article co-published by ProPublica and The Washington Post, an analysis of presidential pardon data seems to suggest that race may be a more important factor in presidential pardons than one might think.

Most presidential pardons go unnoticed; those that do not often leave the impression that the process is rife with political maneuvering and backroom favors. Criminals pardoned with presidential pardons are essentially returned to the state of innocence they had before they were convicted of a federal crime.

But many presidential pardons are not political at all. Rather, pardons are often based on recommendations made by government bureaucrats, far removed from the world of electoral politics, in the Office of the Pardon Attorney.

In ProPublica's analysis of presidential pardons, the organization examined previous records and various other data from the Office of the Pardon Attorney. The information included criminal charges, post-conviction conduct and factors such as character and reputation. The findings indicated that white criminals seeking pardons were four times more likely to receive a pardon than blacks.

To obtain the information necessary to conduct the investigation, ProPublica collected the names of over 1,700 individuals denied presidential pardons over the last 10 years through a Freedom of Information Act request. The names of another 189 individuals who received pardons were collected from the Department of Justice.

Using 500 randomly selected individuals from the combined groups, staff gathered demographic information including age, race, gender and marital status. Information was also collected on sentencing, financial judgments and any additional charges. In every case, the White House followed the pardons office's recommendations.

According to the study, although there a number of variables that can have an effect on the office's decision to recommend a presidential pardon -- including marriage, community involvement, financial stability and reputation -- race still appeared to be one of the most important factors (even after controlling for other variables).

In the 500-person sample, 12 percent of white petitioners and 10 percent of Hispanic petitioners received pardons. Out of all those in the sample, African Americans were among the least likely to be pardoned for their crimes. In fact, in this particular sampling not one black person received a pardon.

What surprised researchers most was not that there were disparities among races, but how much of an effect race appeared to have on the final outcome. According to researchers, in several cases involving white and black prisoners with identical charges and post-conviction histories, the outcomes were often completely different.

The Department of Justice claims that determining why a pardon was or was not granted is not as easy as it may appear on the surface. For one thing, a number of factors used to determine whether or not the office will recommend a pardon are difficult to quantify, such as reputation or character.

Also complicating matters is the fact that the reason for denial is not provided when an application for a pardon is denied. While some factors used by pardon officers to determine whether or not to recommend a presidential pardon are clear, others seem downright subjective and open to abuse and accusations of bias.

Although the Department of Justice and the Office of the Pardon Attorney continue to deny that race places a role in who is recommended for a presidential pardon, the federal agencies were unable to explain why so many similarly situated individuals of different races received such different results.

The Department of Justice and the Office of the Pardon Attorney's methods will likely continue to come under scrutiny until the Department decides to make the process and the evaluation pardon criteria open to the public. Anything less than absolute transparency is begging for accusations of political games and abuse.

Website: http://www.mjsacco.com