pardon

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Appeals Court Declines to Consider Abbott's Pardon

Texas case involves a man who killed a Black Lives Matter protester

(Newser) - A Texas appeals court on Wednesday declined to consider reversing Gov. Greg Abbott's pardon of a man convicted of killing a Black Lives Matter demonstrator. The all-Republican Court of Criminal Appeals provided no explanation for its decision, the AP reports. And there was no immediate word on whether Travis...

Biden Pardons Veterans Convicted 'for Being Themselves'

Thousands were found to have violated repealed military ban on consensual gay sex

(Newser) - President Biden pardoned potentially thousands of former US service members convicted of violating a now-repealed military ban on consensual gay sex, saying Wednesday that he is "righting [a] historic wrong" to clear the way for them to regain lost benefits. Biden's action grants a pardon to service members...

Maryland's Governor Is About to Issue a Mass Pot Pardon

About 100K people will receive clemency for misdemeanor pot possession

(Newser) - Good news for many who've been busted with pot in the state of Maryland: Gov. Wes Moore is set to put out a mass pardon on Monday for more than 175,000 marijuana convictions, forgiving low-level possession charges for about 100,000 people. The Washington Post notes the move...

Biden Slams 'Failed Approach' to Pot, Clears Path for Pardons

President makes thousands more people eligible to receive pardons for marijuana-related crimes

(Newser) - President Biden is making thousands of people who were convicted of use and simple possession of marijuana on federal lands and in the District of Columbia eligible for pardons, the White House said Friday, in his latest round of executive clemencies meant to rectify racial disparities in the justice system....

Biden's Birthday Keeps His Age in the Spotlight

President turns 81 on Monday, with conversation continuing on whether he's too old to run

(Newser) - It's set to be a busy day at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. on Monday, with a trio of noteworthy events taking place: the annual pre-Thanksgiving pardoning of turkeys, the delivery of the White House's Christmas tree, and the 81st birthday of President Biden, already the oldest president in America'...

For Trump, the Georgia Case Holds a Big Threat
A Georgia Worry for Trump:
Pardon-Proof Charges
the rundown
Aug 14, 2023 10:25 AM CDT

A Georgia Worry for Trump: Pardon-Proof Charges

Former president is expected to be indicted on state charges soon

(Newser) - It looks like the fourth indictment of Donald Trump could come as soon as Tuesday , this time out of Georgia. There, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been investigating the former president's efforts to overturn his narrow 2020 election loss in the state. A grand jury is on...

Abbott: I'll Pardon Man Who Murdered Protester
Man Gets 25 Years for
Murder of BLM Protester
UPDATED
May 10, 2023 1:33 PM CDT

Man Gets 25 Years for Murder of BLM Protester

Prosecutors rejected Daniel Perry's self-defense claim

(Newser) - A US Army sergeant has been sentenced to 25 years for killing a protester during a Black Lives Matter protest in Austin in July 2020. Daniel Perry, 36, was convicted last month of murdering Garrett Foster. Perry's lawyer says he plans to appeal and will cooperate with Texas Gov....

Here Are Biden's 6 Pardons to End 2022

Mostly for minor drug-, alcohol-related offenses, for people whose sentences have been completed

(Newser) - President Biden has pardoned six people who've served out sentences after convictions on a murder charge and drug- and alcohol-related crimes, including an 80-year-old woman convicted of killing her abusive husband about a half-century ago and a man who pleaded guilty to using a telephone for a cocaine transaction...

Texas Rejects Posthumous Pardon for George Floyd

Board first voted yes, then no after Abbott's office kicked recommendation back

(Newser) - Without giving a reason, Texas officials revealed their decision Thursday to not grant a posthumous pardon to George Floyd over a Houston drug conviction. The Board of Pardons and Paroles told the public defender who has represented Floyd in a letter, the Hill reports. A majority on the board opposed...

GOP Senators Slam Trump's 'Inappropriate' Pardons Remark

Graham, Romney, others blast Jan. 6 comment; Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley thread the needle

(Newser) - Earlier this month, former President Trump told a conservative radio host that, if he were elected to the Oval Office again, he'd offer "full pardons," along with a public apology to many of those who'd stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6. Turns out a few GOP...

Samsung Chief Is Needed at Work, Will Be Pardoned

Lee Jae-yong's pardon is partially symbolic since he was released on parole a year ago

(Newser) - The heir and de-facto leader of Samsung, twice imprisoned for bribing a former president of South Korea, has just received a presidential pardon. Lee Jae-yong's pardon is partially symbolic since he was released on parole a year ago after serving 18 months of a prison term that would have...

Woman Who Killed Pimp When She Was 16 Pardoned

Sara Kruzan was 13 when she was forced into prostitution in California

(Newser) - A California woman who was forced into prostitution when she was 13 has been pardoned for killing her former pimp when she was 16. In a case widely seen as a miscarriage of justice, Sara Kruzan was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1995, the...

Killer Pardoned by Governor Sentenced Again in Same Crime

Patrick Baker gets 42 years

(Newser) - Update: The man pardoned by Kentucky's former governor for a 2014 murder is going back to prison for 42 years for the same murder. Patrick Baker, who was prosecuted the second time in federal court under the "dual sovereignty doctrine" since his first conviction was in state court,...

Man Who Wouldn't Leave Train Car in 1892 Is Up for a Pardon
A Historical Wrong
Is Righted in Louisiana
UPDATED
Jan 5, 2022 1:50 PM CST

A Historical Wrong Is Righted in Louisiana

Homer Plessy, who wouldn't leave whites-only train car in 1892, is pardoned

(Newser) - Update: Homer Plessy has been pardoned almost 130 years after he was arrested for violating a racist law in Louisiana. Gov. John Bel Edwards issued the formal pardon near the site where the Black man bought a ticket for a whites-only train car in 1892, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports....

George Floyd Pardon Dropped
George Floyd Pardon Dropped
Dec 23, 2021 6:55 PM CST

George Floyd Pardon Dropped

Abbott's office says there were errors in recommendation by Texas parole board

(Newser) - The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously recommended that George Floyd, who was convicted on a drug charge in 2004 and killed by a police officer in 2020, be given a full pardon. But Thursday, when it came time for Gov. Greg Abbott to release his annual list of...

At Presidential Turkey Pardon, the Jokes Flew

'Instead of getting basted, these two turkeys are getting boosted,' Biden said at WH ceremony

(Newser) - President Biden on Friday pardoned two Thanksgiving turkeys, saying that the white male birds were selected based on their "temperament, appearance, and, I suspect, vaccination status." "Instead of getting basted, these two turkeys are getting boosted today," Biden joked, per the AP . Biden was in a...

Pardon Recommended for George Floyd's 2004 Arrest

It's up to Gov. Greg Abbott now

(Newser) - Update: On Monday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously approved a posthumous pardon request from George Floyd's family. The request, which relates to Floyd's 2004 arrest at the hands of a former Houston cop who's since been indicted on counts including murder, now goes to...

7 Black Men Pardoned 70 Years After Executions

'Martinsville Seven' were convicted of raping a white woman in Virginia

(Newser) - Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam granted posthumous pardons Tuesday to seven Black men who were executed in 1951 for the rape of a white woman, a case that attracted pleas for mercy from around the world and in recent years has been denounced as an example of racial disparity in the...

Driver in Infamous Robbery Gains a Last-Minute Pardon
Driver in Infamous Robbery
May Go Free After 40 Years
the rundown
Aug 24, 2021 10:50 AM CDT

Driver in Infamous Robbery May Go Free After 40 Years

Outgoing Gov. Andrew Cuomo granted clemency to Brink's getaway driver David Gilbert

(Newser) - Andrew Cuomo granted clemency to half a dozen people in his final hours in office Monday night, none more controversial than that of David Gilbert. The 76-year-old was a getaway driver in an infamous 1981 robbery of a Brink's armored car that left two police officers and a security...

Governor Makes Good on Promise to McCloskeys

Gun-waving St. Louis couple pardoned

(Newser) - Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday announced that he made good on his promise to pardon a couple who gained notoriety for pointing guns at social justice demonstrators as they marched past the couple's home in a luxury St. Louis enclave last year. Parson, a Republican, on Friday pardoned...

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