Statistical Analysis of Presidential Pardons
Published in: Bureau of Justice Statistics website (2021)
Posted on RAND.org on July 06, 2021
This report was produced by RAND Corporation for BJS under award number 2012-MU-CX-K045. It is a study of pardon-petition evaluations performed by the Office of the Pardon Attorney (PARDON, formerly OPA), a unit in the Department of Justice. PARDON processes thousands of requests for executive clemency each year. RAND conducted a statistical examination of how PARDON screens incoming petitions, investigates the facts underlying the petitions, and evaluates the merits of petitions when crafting recommendations to the President to grant or deny a pardon. Data were analyzed for any patterns in PARDON decisions that indicated racial or ethnic bias.
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