Is it ok for presidents to Pardon anyone they like?

[atari]

I am thinking about the concept of presidents being able to pardon or free anyone from a prison they like. Could they possibly take advantage of this to free some folks that should not be let free? If I remember right, Clinton pardoned about 2,000+ people. I am suspicious that he had not studied the details of each case.

[danisara]

I am thinking about the concept of presidents being able to pardon or free anyone from a prison they like. Could they possibly take advantage of this to free some folks that should not be let free? If I remember right, Clinton pardoned about 2,000+ people. I am suspicious that he had not studied the details of each case.

It is important that a president or someone in the executive branch is able to give freedom. There are many people in a jail that were imprisoned only because of some judicial mistake. For a president to give pardons, it means to show his human face. I do not think that a president would pardon a murdered. There are some rules on what type of cases presidents can pardon, they can't pardon anyone they like. I am sure there are some people keeping an eye on who gets pardoned.

[sunset]

I think it is wrong to be able to revert decisions made by courts. Why should a select group of people receive pardons or get commuted sentences while others do not?

I think this is a schizophrenia and shows what a farce this country can be. It removes all moral authority of our government if they can pick and choose who they allow to break the law.

The bad thing is that I do not see how this could be changed. The right to Pardon is granted to President in The Constitution. Changing the Constitution would require an amendment which is not likely to happen.