I have been reading some enjoyable texts about this legally, philosophically and politically very interesting question, for obvious reasons, and I thought it would be nice to hear your thoughts on the matter. My own thinking changed over the course of one day, because I am weak and confused.
Should the executive have the power to grant clemency to criminals?
Under what circumstances?
For what reasons, if any?
As always: why/why not?
I'm ambivalent, probably because I was a kid during the Nixon era, and never quite understood how he could be pardoned by his successor.
It's a reasonable check against abuse of power by the judiciary. But it's clear it should be curtailed. I'm no legal expert, so I have no idea what would and wouldn't work.
Can't speak for other systems but within the US framework it is reasonable to have another branch with that kind of limited review over the actions taken by the judiciary, and the executive makes a lot more sense than the legislature. Just because judges are (mostly) non-political doesn't mean they or their work goes on a pedestal and there are even situations where political considerations SHOULD trump normal criminal procedure (the Civil War was the hot topic last week). Hell, if Trump had issued the pardon on humanitarian grounds I don't know that I'd have batted an eye, Arpaio IS eighty-five years old.
I don't like this pardon. But it's one pardon. From a six-month sentence. Might be a bit early to declare the system rotten at the core. There are remedies for abuse in place and abuse doesn't seem to be terribly common.
I think it makes sense for someone in the executive to have this power to correct miscarriages of justice etc but it is a power that should be used very rarely if ever.
That doesn't seem to be the case in the States though where Presidents and Governors quite often seem to pardon people they simply don't think should be imprisoned either because they agree with them or some other reason. In which case this particular example doesn't seem excessively out of line of other ones.
I think acting under the belief that in general its better for a guilty man to walk free than an innocent man to be imprisoned then its probably a power someone should have.
Most people who get pardoned have already served their sentences and the main purpose of the pardon is to remove their criminal record.