Amnesty

Amnesty

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For the human rights organization, see Amnesty International.

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Amnesty (from the Greek amnestia, oblivion) is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the position of innocent persons. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offense. The word has the same root as amnesia.

Amnesties, which in the United Kingdom, may be granted by the crown alone, or by an act of Parliament, were formerly usual on coronations and similar occasions, but are chiefly exercised towards associations of political criminals, and are sometimes granted absolutely, though more frequently there are certain specified exceptions. Thus, in the case of the earliest recorded amnesty, that of Thrasybulus at Athens, the thirty tyrants and a few others were expressly excluded from its operation; and the amnesty proclaimed on the restoration of Charles II of England did not extend to those who had taken part in the execution of his father. Other famous amnesties include: Napoleon's amnesty of March 13, 1815 from which thirteen eminent persons, including Talleyrand, were exempt; the Prussian amnesty of August 10, 1840; the general amnesty proclaimed by the emperor Franz Josef I of Austria in 1857; the general amnesty granted by President of the United States, Andrew Johnson, after the American Civil War (1861-April 9, 1865), in 1868, and the French amnesty of 1905. The last act of amnesty passed in Great Britain was that of 1747, which pardoned those who had taken part in the 1745 Jacobite Rising.

Contents [hide] 1 Purposes 2 Controversy 3 Related uses of the term 4 Improper uses of the term 5 See also 6 References

[edit] Purposes

An amnesty may be extended when the authority decides that bringing citizens into compliance with a law is more important than punishing them for past offenses. Amnesty is often used to get people to turn in contraband, as in the case of China's gun restrictions,^[1] or the Kansas City ban on pit bulls.^[2] Advantage of using amnesty may include avoiding expensive prosecutions (especially when massive numbers of violators are involved); prompting violators to come forward who might otherwise have eluded authorities; and promoting reconciliation between offenders and society. An example of the latter was the amnesty that was granted to conscientious objectors and draft dodgers in the wake of the Vietnam War in the 1970s, in an effort by President Carter to heal war wounds.^[3]

[edit] Controversy

Nonetheless, amnesty can also raise questions of justice. An example was the Ugandan government's offer to not prosecute alleged war criminal Joseph Kony, in hopes that further bloodshed would be avoided.^[4] David Smock noted, "The downside of it is the impunity that it implies; that people can commit atrocities and say that they will only stop if they are given amnesty..."^[5]

A controversial issue in the United States is whether illegal immigrants should be granted some form of amnesty. It is proposed that immigrants be able to come forward and immediately receive probationary status.^[6] This is criticized as being a reward for breaking the law.^[7]