Earlier this month, outgoing US President Joe Biden issued the largest sweep of clemency in America’s modern history, reducing the prison sentences of some 1,500 people and vacating the convictions entirely for several dozen more. On the surface, it seems strange for a democracy to give its president the power of the pardon, a relic of the earliest English monarchies. So we teamed up with Echelon Insights to learn how ordinary Americans see the issue.
As it happens, 89% of respondents said they were in favor of pardon powers, with about half “strongly” supporting. Just 12%, meanwhile, said they strongly oppose. It seems that Americans broadly like the idea of the president holding the power to address miscarriages of justice. But when it comes to specifics, views are different. Biden’s controversial decision to pardon his son Hunter Biden was supported by just 2 in 10 Americans.
