Increasing the Use of Executive Clemency to Help Low-Income People with Criminal Records

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Granting clemency is an expansive and individual power of the executive, and its exercise can break down the barriers to employment often faced by ex-offenders—and this means the difference between remaining in and escaping poverty. The next president should use his constitutionally based power to grant clemency frequently and should push for broader expungement rights for offenders as well as a society wide understanding of the value of democracy.

By Margaret Stapleton and Marie Claire Tran From November-December 2008 Clearinghouse Review