Obama: Hope and Change Scorecard

President Obama has - without fanfare - set a new record for denial of clemency application (9,227). In addition, he has set a new record for denial of commutation applications specifically (8,123).  In the "closed without action" category, the administration has zapped more applications (3,366) than any president since Franklin Roosevelt.

	W. Bush	Obama	Comment
Pardons
Grants	189	70	Least merciful full termer since John Adams
Denials	1,729	1,629	More than 5 of the previous 6 presidents
Grant Rate	1 in every 13	1 in every 32
Closed w/out Action	464	484	More than any of the previous 3 presidents
Commutations
Grants	11	187	Many thousands of applications pending
Denials	7,479	8,123	A new record for presidents
Commutation Rate	1 in every 779	1 in every 102
Closed w/out Action	2,223	2,882	More than any of the previous 9 presidents
Grants
as % of Applications	.02	.011
as % of Decisions	.01	.025