Forgiveness, Mercy, and Clemency

257 Pages·2006·0.61 MB·English

by  Austin Sarat

Forgiveness, Mercy,
and Clemency
AUSTIN SARAT AND
NASSER HUSSAIN
Editors
Stanford University Press
FORGIVENESS, MERCY,
AND CLEMENCY

Forgiveness, Mercy,
and Clemency
Edited by
AUSTIN SARAT AND
NASSER HUSSAIN
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Stanford, California, 2007
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
© 2007 by the Board of Trustees of the
Leland Stanford Junior University.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system without the prior written permission
of Stanford University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free, archival-quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Forgiveness, mercy, and clemency / edited by Austin Sarat and Nasser Hussain.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 9780804753326 (cloth : alk. paper)
9780804753333 (pbk.: alk. paper)
1. Capital punishment—Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Criminal justice,
Administration of—United States. 3. Clemency. 4. Pardon. I. Sarat,
Austin. II. Hussain, Nasser
kfi1765.c2 f67 2006
364.6/3 22 2006012940
Original Printing 2006
Typeset by Newgen in 10/14.5 Minion
To my son, Benjamin, with gratitude for his many gifts (A. S.)
To Saif and Iman, may they grow up to a more forgiving world (N. H.)

Acknowledgments
The work gathered here was fi rst presented at a conference held at Amherst College
on March 26– 27, 2005. We are grateful to all of the participants in that event, but
especially to our colleagues Christopher Dole, Thomas Dumm, Marissa Parham,
Andrew Parker, Jill Stauffer, and Paola Zamperini. We also wish to thank Am-
herst’s Dean of the Faculty, Gregory S. Call, for his generous fi nancial support.

Contents
acknowledgments vii
contributors xi
Toward New Theoretical Perspectives on Forgiveness, Mercy,
and Clemency: An Introduction 1
nasser hussain and austin sarat
Tempering or Tampering? Mercy and the Administration
of Criminal Justice 16
carol s. steiker
Should Mercy Have a Place in Clemency Decisions? 36
daniel t. kobil
The Merciful State 64
linda ross meyer
Revising the Past: On the Metaphysics of Repentance,
Forgiveness, and Pardon 117
meir dan-cohen
Comparative National Blaming: W. G. Sebald on
the Bombing of Germany 138
bruce robbins
Keeping the Peace 156
adam sitze
index 225