The History of the Criminal Pardon in Canada and Other Countries
The concept of forgiveness is one of humanity's oldest concepts - without it, we would be poorer as a species, as it is meant to elevate and heal us.
It is no surprise, therefore, that it has long been enshrined in law - both religious and civil.
That law is commonly known in today's society as the "pardon".
Criminal pardons in Canadian law are relatively young - they have existed since 1970, when the Criminal Records Act was enacted.
Pardons in the rest of the world, however, have a much longer history, with one of the first instances of one being granted in ancient Greece.
The democratic leader and Athenian general Thrasybulus gave a general pardon to most of the overthrown thirty tyrants to prevent further bloodshed from the formerly enslaved Athenians in 403 BCE.
The modern English use of the word pardon is not quite that ancient; it only goes back to the days of medieval France.
The French word "pardonner" comes from the Latin "per" - "through or thoroughly" and "donare" - "to give or to present".
The more common use of the word "perdonare" in Vulgar (common) Latin meant "to remit or to give wholeheartedly".
The meaning of the word pardon grew yet more specific when it became "pardonner" in the late twelve hundreds in France, gaining the modern meaning of "to grant or forgive".
Forgiveness started out as the sole property of the Roman Catholic Church in medieval France, with pardons initially meaning "papal indulgences", which were given to people by the pope to partially cancel or remit any or all of a person's sins after they had had an absolution through sacrament.
In the early thirteen hundreds, local rulers began to grant legal pardons in counterpoint to the Catholic Church's religious ones.
These new pardons held the meaning of "to pass over an offense without punishment".
Over the next few centuries the power of the pardon became more centralized until only the ruling monarch of a country could grant one in Europe.
However, with that power vested in only one person there was the opportunity for corruption and for the monarch to play favorites.
In the 1700s, during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, this opportunity was widely attacked by critics.
As a result, the modern pardon system has many safeguards against corruption, such as committees which monitor leaders who still have the power to pardon and who recommend which people to give pardons to.
Canada's pardon system is not subjective at all - it is completely impartial.
Established relatively recently, Canada has perhaps learned from others' examples and mistakes.
It has constructed a system wherein one must simply meet the criteria of a pardon, complete the necessary work for it, and one is guaranteed to be granted one by the Parole Board of Canada (PBC).
The old model of a pardon system still exists in Canada as the royal prerogative of mercy, based on the UK's model.
It is, however, far less practical to get a pardon with, as it is more subjective than the regular criminal pardon.
One's application goes not only through the PBC, but then through either the Solicitor General or the Governor General and finally gets approved or denied by the government.
It is no wonder then that more people go for a second chance with regular criminal pardons than royal prerogatives of mercy.
It is no surprise, therefore, that it has long been enshrined in law - both religious and civil.
That law is commonly known in today's society as the "pardon".
Criminal pardons in Canadian law are relatively young - they have existed since 1970, when the Criminal Records Act was enacted.
Pardons in the rest of the world, however, have a much longer history, with one of the first instances of one being granted in ancient Greece.
The democratic leader and Athenian general Thrasybulus gave a general pardon to most of the overthrown thirty tyrants to prevent further bloodshed from the formerly enslaved Athenians in 403 BCE.
The modern English use of the word pardon is not quite that ancient; it only goes back to the days of medieval France.
The French word "pardonner" comes from the Latin "per" - "through or thoroughly" and "donare" - "to give or to present".
The more common use of the word "perdonare" in Vulgar (common) Latin meant "to remit or to give wholeheartedly".
The meaning of the word pardon grew yet more specific when it became "pardonner" in the late twelve hundreds in France, gaining the modern meaning of "to grant or forgive".
Forgiveness started out as the sole property of the Roman Catholic Church in medieval France, with pardons initially meaning "papal indulgences", which were given to people by the pope to partially cancel or remit any or all of a person's sins after they had had an absolution through sacrament.
In the early thirteen hundreds, local rulers began to grant legal pardons in counterpoint to the Catholic Church's religious ones.
These new pardons held the meaning of "to pass over an offense without punishment".
Over the next few centuries the power of the pardon became more centralized until only the ruling monarch of a country could grant one in Europe.
However, with that power vested in only one person there was the opportunity for corruption and for the monarch to play favorites.
In the 1700s, during the Age of Enlightenment in Europe, this opportunity was widely attacked by critics.
As a result, the modern pardon system has many safeguards against corruption, such as committees which monitor leaders who still have the power to pardon and who recommend which people to give pardons to.
Canada's pardon system is not subjective at all - it is completely impartial.
Established relatively recently, Canada has perhaps learned from others' examples and mistakes.
It has constructed a system wherein one must simply meet the criteria of a pardon, complete the necessary work for it, and one is guaranteed to be granted one by the Parole Board of Canada (PBC).
The old model of a pardon system still exists in Canada as the royal prerogative of mercy, based on the UK's model.
It is, however, far less practical to get a pardon with, as it is more subjective than the regular criminal pardon.
One's application goes not only through the PBC, but then through either the Solicitor General or the Governor General and finally gets approved or denied by the government.
It is no wonder then that more people go for a second chance with regular criminal pardons than royal prerogatives of mercy.
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