Edit: seems I fell for some bad information. The pardoning mentioned by George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter are errors: they did not pardon family (despite some articles from otherwise typically reputable sources saying so, like Esquire). I apologize and commit to being more careful about checking things before I share them. I’m sorry about this.
@davidaugust The real issue here is that US presidents firstly have the power to this, and secondly also maintain the power to do these things *after* losing re-election, when the reputational cost to them is irrelevant. Does this weird situation exist anywhere else in the world at all???
I don't think there is a country where the government can't pardon people at will. All of them can release from prison anyone, anytime. And general amnesty is a thing since governments were invented.
Even more, there are many places where is a tradition to pardon rehabilitated criminals on some holiday, like Christmas.
