Amnesty
For the human rights organization, see Amnesty International.Amnesty (from the
Greek amnestia, oblivion) is an act of justice by which the supreme power in a state restores those who may have been guilty of any offence against it to the position of innocent persons. It includes more than
pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offence.
Amnesties, which, in the
United Kingdom, may be granted by the crown alone, or by an act of
Parliament, were formerly usual on coronations and similar occasions, but are chiefly exercised towards associations of political criminals, and are sometimes granted absolutely, though more frequently there are certain specified exceptions. Thus, in the case of the earliest recorded amnesty, that of
Thrasybulus at
Athens, the thirty tyrants and a few others were expressly excluded from its operation; and the amnesty proclaimed on the restoration of
Charles II of England did not extend to those who had taken part in the execution of his father.Other famous amnesties include:
Napoleon's amnesty of
March 13,
1815 from which thirteen eminent persons, including
Talleyrand, were exempt; the
Prussian amnesty of
August 10,
1840; the general amnesty proclaimed by the emperor
Franz Josef I of Austria in
1857; the general amnesty granted by
President of the United States,
Andrew Johnson, after the
American Civil War (
1861-
April 9,
1865), in
1868, and the French amnesty of
1905. The last act of amnesty passed in
Great Britain was that of
1747, which pardonned those who had taken part in the 1745
Jacobite Rising.
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* The term
amnesty is also used to describe any initiative where individuals are encouraged to turn over illicit items to the authorities, on the understanding that they will not be prosecuted for having been in possession of those items. A common use of such amnesties, is to reduce the number of firearms or other weapons in circulation. Several public schools with a zero-tolerance policy on drugs or weapons have an "amnesty box" in which students may dispose of contraband objects accidentally brought to school without consequence.
*
Amnesty is now common in South Africa. The
TRC (
Truth and Reconciliation Commission) holds amnesty trials as a form of reconciliation through truth, where the guilty party can admit and take responsiblity for their actions.
Nelson Mandela and
Desmond Tutu also used amnesty to bring South Africa closer to democracy.
* Many libraries have an
amnesty week where people can return late library books and they will not be charged a fine for having them out.
*Referring to imposed lesser sentences or punishments that are not "more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offence" as Amnesty'''.
*The term
Amnesty is often wrongly used for political reasons to define an act of leniency [
1].
