Statistical Analysis of Presidential Pardons

Nicholas M. Pace, James M. Anderson, Shamena Anwar, Danielle Schlang, Melissa A. Bradley, Amalavoyal V. Chari

ResearchPosted on rand.org Jul 6, 2021Published in: Bureau of Justice Statistics website (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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Document Details

  • Copyright: Bureau of Justice Statistics
  • Availability: Non-RAND
  • Year: 2021
  • Pages: 224
  • Document Number: EP-68670

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