Letters to the Editor

Is clemency just and fair?

Editor:

Recent weeks have seen a wave of clemency from the White House. Hunter Biden pardoned. The largest single act of clemency in history — 1,500 nonviolent criminals pardoned; 37 of 40 death row sentences commuted.

These actions can help us understand the difference between justice and fairness — and the possible tension between them.

We label our system the “criminal justice system,” but we also want it to be fair. Justice and fairness are not the same thing.

Justice means you did the crime, and you got a punishment allowed by law.

Fairness means you got a similar punishment to other people who did the same thing.

Each of the acts of clemency came with an announcement from the White House, and each announcement appealed to fairness.

Why pardon Hunter Biden? Fairness. He was “selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted. Without aggravating factors ... people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form.”

Why pardon 1,500 people? Fairness. They “were sentenced under outdated laws, policies, and practices that left them with longer sentences than if the individuals were sentenced today.”

What take 37 people off death row? Fairness. “These commutations are consistent with the moratorium my Administration has imposed on federal executions, in cases other than terrorism and hate-motivated mass murder.”

We should not be surprised, then, if people who emphasize fairness — like criminal justice reform advocates — cheer these efforts, while people who emphasize justice — like crime victim rights advocates — criticize them.

We have an example — live and in living color — that can help us understand the possible tension between justice and fairness. Perhaps we can also get a glimmer of how persuasive we can be when we can show that we are both just and fair.

Jonathan Gardner

Los Lunas