“[T]he power to be lenient is the power to discriminate.” – Kenneth Culp Davis[1] The Supreme Court cited the Kenneth Culp Davis quote above when it rejected a challenge to Georgia’s capital punishment scheme as racially discriminatory in McCleskey v. Kemp.[2] McCleskey provided the Court with powerful evidence of racial bias in Georgia’s administration of […] Continue Reading >
Capital Clemency in the Age of Constitutional Regulation: Reversing the Unwarranted Decline
Capital Clemency in the Age of Constitutional Regulation: Reversing the Unwarranted Decline
For this symposium on “Mercy,” some examination of the practice of executive clemency seems essential in light of the historical roots of the contemporary clemency power. The authority of American chief executives to diminish or waive punishment originally derived from the power of English monarchs to do so. The English Crown’s power, in turn, arose […] Continue Reading >
Mercy in Extremis, In-Group Bias, and Stranger Blindness
When Mercy Discriminates
Mercy in Extremis, In-Group Bias, and Stranger Blindness
[W]hen you get a chance to choose, of course, you choose your own kind. – Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go 4 (2005) There are other good guys. You said so. Yes. So where are they? They’re hiding. Who are they hiding from? From each other. – Cormac McCarthy, The Road 155 (2006)[1]† Now, it […] Continue Reading >
Capital Clemency in the Age of Constitutional Regulation: Reversing the Unwarranted Decline