I've long wondered about the difference between clemency and a pardon (Donald Trump keeps bringing this question back to me).
A clemency could be the last-minute postponement of an execution. A governor could forgive a notorious crime. Or a government ruling could reclassify certain crimes and ultimately commute the sentences of hundreds of inmates. Those are clemencies.
Clemency means that the penalties of your crime have been reduced or put on hold.
A pardon is a type of clemency that relieves you from the legal consequences of your crime. Unlike a reprieve or commutation, which delays or reduces your sentence, a pardon erases your conviction in the eyes of the state.
And with a presidential pardon, accepting the pardon means you're admitting that you're guilty (or at least that's how I understand it).
There's more to pardons and clemencies, but I'll leave them alone.
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