Show HN: Pardonned.com – A searchable database of US Pardons

Hacker News Discussion ↗

Project reception & scope

  • Many commenters praise the site as exactly the kind of civic data tool government should have built but didn’t.
  • Several find it engaging to explore overall statistics then drill into individual cases.
  • Some see the name “Pardonned” as a deliberate wordplay, especially linked to Trump.

Data quality, coverage, and quirks

  • Multiple users flag inconsistencies: Obama’s two terms combined in one figure, missing or misparsed restitution amounts, and miscounted time-reduced for people already having served years.
  • DOJ’s own inconsistent formatting and term-splitting is a recurring obstacle; the project owner acknowledges parser fixes are needed.
  • Cases like Trevor Milton and a repeat beneficiary (commutation under a former name, later pardon) highlight challenges with tracking fines and identity links.
  • The site currently calculates “restitution/fines abandoned” only when amounts appear in DOJ text.

Desired analyses and features

  • Users request breakdowns by offense category (drug, financial, fraud), monetary value of linked donations or lobbying, and demographic/contextual data (race, age, connections, donations).
  • Interest in comparing pardons and commutations across presidents, including mass drug commutations.
  • Some want deeper tooling: filters on fines, repeat-offender tracking, public raw data (JSON/SQLite), or even linked-data/SPARQL.

Debate over the pardon power

  • Strong contingent argues presidential pardons are archaic, monarchic, and structurally anti-democratic; many call for abolition or heavy reform (no preemptive pardons, caps per term, legislative review).
  • Others defend pardons as a necessary “release valve” to correct miscarriages of justice, respond to shifting norms (e.g., harsh drug sentences), or prevent violent power struggles and vengeful prosecutions.
  • Preemptive pardons are particularly contentious: some see them as absurd blanket immunity; others note historical precedents (Nixon, draft dodgers) and argue they can be legitimate.
  • Several point out that changing the pardon power would require a constitutional amendment, and that case law currently interprets it as very broad.

Justice system and political context

  • Commenters emphasize overlong drug sentences, mandatory minimums, three-strikes laws, and overcrowded prisons as drivers of clemency.
  • The “trial penalty” and plea-bargain coercion are cited as reasons many innocent or overcharged defendants plead guilty; pardons and commutations are viewed by some as partial correction.
  • There is heated discussion about recent presidents’ use of pardons for allies, family, and donors, and about partisan double standards in how different administrations’ pardons are judged.
  • Some worry the combination of broad pardon power, politicized prosecution, and recent immunity rulings creates serious potential for future abuse.