Bibliography and Classification of: Political Science Literature Related to State and Federal Executive Clemency, 1853-2012

Abstract

This document attempts to summarize the political science literature related to state and federal executive clemency. In recent years, this literature has been described, by various authors, as thin, sparse, almost non-existent. This document reveals, however, that the discipline of political science actually has a long, rich tradition of interest in clemency, an interest which has resulted in historical reviews, case studies, legal and descriptive analysis, aggregate data analysis and multivariate modeling. In creating this document, I have used the following guidelines for inclusion/exclusion: First, I located pieces that appeared in the professional journals of the discipline, of all stripes. I included such pieces even when special issues were involved and non-political scientists were the authors. Second, I tried to locate any and all instances where political scientists engaged in extensive commentary re clemency outside of the confines of professional journals. These efforts included, of course, books, but also law review articles, essays and appearances in other journals of social science. Third, the pardon of Richard Nixon barely made a substantive dent in the journals of political science, but multivariate models of voting and public opinion would. on occasion, include a variable related to public views of Ford’s decisions. These pieces were not included in the creation of the listings below.