List of people pardoned by George W. Bush

This is a list of people pardoned by George W. Bush. Bush, a Republican, served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009.

Constitutional authority
The pardon powers of the president are outlined in Article Two of the United States Constitution (Section 2, Clause 1), which provides:

"The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment."

Definitions

 * A pardon is an executive order granting clemency for a conviction, it may be granted "at any point after the...commission" of the crime. As per Justice Department regulations, convicted persons may only apply five or more years after their sentence has been completed. However, the president's power to pardon is not restricted by any temporal constraints except that the crime must have been committed. Its practical effect is the restoration of civil rights and statutory disabilities (i.e., firearm rights, occupational licensing) associated with a past criminal conviction. In rarer cases, such as the pardon of Richard Nixon, a pardon can also halt criminal proceedings and prevent an indictment.
 * A commutation is the mitigation of the sentence of someone currently serving a sentence for a crime pursuant to a conviction, without vacating the conviction itself.

List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States
A list of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States, ordered by date of pardon or commutation, is available here: List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States.

August 16, 2006
Department of Justice Immediate Release

Commutations issued by George W. Bush

 * 1) Bobby Mac Berry, May 20, 2004 (Conspiracy to manufacture and possess with intent to manufacture marijuana, money laundering)
 * 2) Geraldine Gordon, May 20, 2004 (Conspiracy to distribute phencyclidine, distribution of phencyclidine)
 * 3) Phillip Anthony Emmert, December 21, 2006 (Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine)
 * 4) Lewis Libby, July 2, 2007 in connect to the Valerie Plame affair (one count of obstruction of justice; two counts of perjury; and one count of making false statements to federal investigators)
 * 5) Michael Dwayne Short, December 10, 2007 (Aiding and abetting the distribution of cocaine base)
 * 6) Patricia Beckford, March 24, 2008 (Conspiracy and attempt to distribute in excess of 50 grams of crack cocaine)
 * 7) John Forté, November 24, 2008 (possession with intent to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to distribute)
 * 8) James Russell Harris, November 24, 2008 (convicted in 1993 of cocaine conspiracy, money laundering and bribery)
 * 9) Reed Raymond Prior of Des Moines, Iowa, December 23, 2008 (possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute)
 * 10) Ignacio Ramos, January 19, 2009 (2006 Shooting and wounding admitted and later convicted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Dávila and trying to cover up the incident)
 * 11) Jose Compean, January 19, 2009 (2006 Shooting and wounding admitted and later convicted drug smuggler Osvaldo Aldrete Dávila and trying to cover up the incident)

Commutation issued by George W. Bush as Governor of Texas

 * Henry Lee Lucas – serial killer convicted of 11 homicides