In the recent comic “Dennis the Menace” by Hank Ketcham, Dennis is shown pointing his finger at a man wearing a suit, white shirt and tie, sternly saying: “My Dad (who is looking on) says you re the best politician money can buy!”
Given Donald Trump’s unprecedented abuse of the pardon power in his last hours as president, there has been a good deal of loose talk on the subject, including that pardons somehow have the effect of wiping out the convictions that underlie them.
In fact, the Justice Department’s own website warns those seeking clemency: ”While a presidential pardon will restore various rights lost as a result of the pardoned offense and should lessen to some extent the stigma arising from a conviction, it will not erase or expunge the record of your conviction.”
UN Experts: Trump Violated International Law in Pardoning Blackwater Mercenaries
The choice to pardon the military contractors convicted of murder and manslaughter may violate the Geneva Conventions.
Jared Rodriguez / Truthout
The pardoning of four Blackwater mercenaries by President Donald Trump earlier this month was an action that violated international law, a group of experts at the United Nations (UN) said on Wednesday.
Trump pardoned the four contractors Nicholas Slatten, who was convicted of first-degree murder, as well as Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard, all three who were convicted of voluntary and attempted manslaughter as part of more than a dozen pardons and commutations last week.
Four contractors convicted of massacring 14 civilians in Iraq in 2007 were pardoned last week
A burned-out car on the site where Blackwater guards opened fire on Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007 (AFP) By Published date: 30 December 2020 14:42 UTC | Last update: 2 months 3 weeks ago
US President Donald Trump s pardon of four American men convicted of massacring Iraqi civilians while working as military contractors in Iraq in 2007 has violated US obligations under international law, United Nations human rights experts said on Wednesday.
Nicholas Slatten was convicted of first-degree murder, while Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard were convicted of voluntary and attempted manslaughter over the incident, in which the contractors opened fire in busy traffic in a Baghdad square and killed 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians.