Amnesty

• Author: Dennis J. Mahoney
• Pages: 89

Page 89

Amnesty is the blanket forgiveness of a group of people for some offense, usually of a political nature. Although there is a technical distinction between an amnesty, which "forgets" the offense, and a pardon, which remits the penalty, historical practice and common usage have made the terms virtually interchangeable. In the United States, amnesty may be granted by the President (under the PARDONING POWER) or by Congress (as NECESSARY AND PROPER to the carrying out of any of several powers). Amnesty may be granted before or after conviction, and may be conditional or unconditional. But neither Congress nor the President may grant amnesty for offenses against state law.

The first instance of amnesty under the Constitution was extended in 1801 by President THOMAS JEFFERSON to persons convicted or charged under the ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS. Between 1862 and 1868, Presidents ABRAHAM LINCOLN and ANDREW JOHNSON issued a series of six proclamations of conditional amnesty for southern rebels. Congress specifically authorized the first three but repealed the authorizing statute in 1867; President Johnson issued the last three on his own authority alone. In the TEST OATH CASES (1867), the Supreme Court struck down, as an unconstitutional interference with the pardoning power, an attempt by Congress to limit the effect of Johnson's amnesty. In 1872, exercising its power under section 3 of the FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT, Congress passed the Amnesty Act restoring the CIVIL RIGHTS of...