Commute vs. Pardon

Commute

DEFINITION /kəˈmyut/ Pronunciation Key [kuh-myoot] v. To reduce a criminal penalty

CONTEXT Instead of going for a full-fledged pardon, President Bush commuted Scooter Libby’s sentence, leaving the fines and criminal record intact but keeping him out of prison.

USAGE Commutations often have qualifiers. Nixon reduced Jimmy Hoffa’s jail term in 1971, provided the Teamster didn’t run the union for 10 years.

Pardon

DEFINITION [pahr-dn] v: To completely forgive a crime

CONTEXT Clinton notoriously issued 140 pardons on his last day in office, including one to tax evader Marc Rich – whose lawyer at the time just happened to be Scooter Libby.

USAGE Bush’s father has given the fewest pardons since Franklin Pierce, but W. isn’t far behind, with 113 in two terms.