Amnesty

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Amnesty

Amnesty (from the Greek language ἀμνηστία amnestia, oblivion) is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offense. Amnesty is more and more used to express 'freedom' and the time when prisoners can go free.

The word amnesty has the same root as amnesia.

Clemency

Clemency is often requested by foreign governments that do not practice capital punishment when one of their citizens has been sentenced to death by a foreign nation that does practice it.

Commutation

Commutation is an associated term, meaning the lessening of the penalty of the crime without forgiving the crime itself.

Pardon

A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. It is granted by a head of states, such as a monarch or president, or by competent Catholic Church authority.

To be eligible for a pardon in Canada, individuals must have completed all of their sentences and a waiting period.

Individuals are considered to have completed all of their sentences if they have:

  • paid all fines, surcharges, costs, restitution and compensation orders
  • served all sentences of imprisonment, conditional sentences, including parole or statutory release
  • completed their probation order

Following completion of all of their sentences, individuals must also complete a waiting period, as follows:

  • 3 years for summary convictions under the Criminal Code or other federal act or regulation, except sexual crimes against children
  • 3 years under the National Defence Act, if fined $2,000 or less, detained or imprisoned 6 months or less, or subjected to various lesser punishments for a service offense
  • 5 years for indictable convictions under the Criminal Code or other federal act or regulation and summary convictions of sexual crimes against children
  • 5 years for all convictions by a Canadian offender transferred to Canada under the Transfer of Offenders Act or International Transfer of Offenders Act
  • 5 years under the National Defence Act, if you were fined more than $2,000, detained or imprisoned more than 6 months, or dismissed from service
  • 10 years for indictable convictions for sexual crimes against children and criminals receiving more than 2 years of imprisonment time for "serious personal injury offense" such as manslaughter or other designated offense under section 752 of the Criminal Code.

Reprieve

A reprieve is the temporary postponement of punishment. Clemency is a general term encompassing all of these. Today, pardons are granted in many countries when individuals have demonstrated that they have fulfilled their debt to society, or are otherwise deserving (in the opinion of the pardoning official) of a pardon. Pardons are sometimes offered to persons who claim they have been wrongfully convicted. Some believe accepting such a pardon implicitly constitutes an admission of guilt, so in some cases, the offer is refused (cases of wrongful conviction are nowadays more often dealt with by appeal than by pardon).

More information is available at [ Wikipedia:Amnesty ]
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