When more turkeys are pardoned than people, the exercise becomes a cruel joke for the many New Jerseyans who are or have been incarcerated, writes the Rev. Amos Caley. (Courtesy of Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way’s office)
By the Rev. Amos Caley
Each Thanksgiving, a photo op positions a governor or president alongside a turkey or two to bestow a “pardon,” as millions of Americans sit down to devour their turkey brethren.
Pardoning a turkey may be staged as a light-hearted bit of whimsy, but when more turkeys are pardoned than people, the exercise becomes a cruel joke for the many New Jerseyans who are or have been incarcerated.
Executive pardons have a long history, allowing presidents and governors to pardon people for punishments they have received. This power is imbued with the value of mercy and forgiveness, recognizing that people may change over time and that acts previously considered criminal can become socially acceptable.
Beyond the executive power of pardons, the values of redemption and mercy live deep in the fabric of society. Rabbinic sages assert that repentance existed even before the creation of the world, because the possibility of overcoming transgressions preceded the transgressions themselves. Every Sunday, Christians recite the Lord’s Prayer, in which they are reminded to unconditionally “forgive those who trespass against us.” The pardon, in other words, is an appeal to our highest moral aspiration. To forgive is part of what makes us human. And this is where the turkey pardon photo op goes from fun joke to cruel farce.
As a nation and a state, we have fallen well short of our values. In the face of mass incarceration, pardon rates have actually fallen, rather than keeping pace with the growth in the number of citizens behind bars. Presidents in recent years have underutilized pardons, while using their power to settle scores or protect political allies. Here in New Jersey, the gubernatorial power of clemency – through commutation or pardon – has been used sparingly, and too often for politically underhanded reasons. Only 105 pardons have been issued in New Jersey over the past 30 years, with not a single pardon issued over the last 8 years. To put this in greater perspective: we have given more second chances to turkeys than to incarcerated New Jerseyans since 2018. Clearly, our thirst for retribution has superseded our belief in redemption.
When more turkeys are pardoned than people, the exercise becomes a cruel joke for the many New Jerseyans who are or have been incarcerated.
– the Rev. Amos Caley
To his credit, Governor Murphy has moved forward with a new clemency initiative to help jump-start New Jersey’s pardon process and help many whose applications have been stuck in limbo to find a second chance. These changes will, I hope, bring relief to the thousands of New Jerseyans who have served their sentences and returned to their communities. But the fact remains that our state still has little to no statutory process for reviewing applications and ranks among the worst in the nation in pardon grants. And the onerous process of waiting for pardons that may or may not be coming is cruel.
This Thanksgiving, I pray that our state’s lawmakers and administrators express not only gratitude, but also contrition. In the end, it is the state that should be requesting a pardon for its complicity in mass incarceration. At its peak New Jersey held nearly 1 in 200 of its own residents in cages, often for low-level and non-violent offenses. Although the number of people in prison and jails has declined steeply since the late 1990s, the long shadow of mass incarceration lingers on public policy and economic opportunity for those who suffered its consequences.
Out of a spirit of contrition, Governor Murphy needs to make good on his promises to issue pardons and commutations, and soon. But while we wait, New Jersey lawmakers should consider the Rehabilitative Release Act (S2338/A4463), which would offer sentencing reviews and early release for incarcerated senior citizens who have served more than 20 years in prison. This legislation was recently listed by the Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission as one of its four policy recommendations.
The turkeys on stage have done no wrong; the pardon they are issued is merely a fabricated reprieve. Forgiving those who have transgressed upon us, upon our friends, neighbors and families, is much harder. But we elect political leaders to make hard decisions, to live the values of our society, and yes, to believe that justice and mercy are bound together.
Let’s practice mercy this Thanksgiving — not in purely ceremonial ways, but in our everyday life. Let’s build and promote practices and rituals and policies that uphold the imperishable value of human life. Let’s commit to living compassionately as a state, and may our laws and statutes reflect our shared belief that forgiveness is more transformative than vengeance.
The Rev. Amos Caley is Pastor at the Reformed Church of Highland Park and organizer of the Second Look NJ coalition.