INDIVIDUAL PARDONING IN CRIMINAL CASES AND RECIDIVISM THE NETHERLANDS

• NCJ Number: 54210
• Author(s): C VAN DERWERFF
• Date Published: 1976
• Length: 67 pages
• Corporate Author: Netherlands Ministry of Justice
• Publication Format: Document
• Country: Netherlands

Annotation

THE EFFECT OF UNCONDITIONAL AND CONDITIONAL PARDONS ON RECIDIVISM IN THE NETHERLANDS WAS STUDIED WITH COMPARISON OF CONVICTS WHO HAD BEEN GRANTED A PARDON AND CONVICTS WHO HAD NOT RECEIVED SUCH A PARDON.

Abstract

A SAMPLE OF PARDONED CONVICTS WHO HAD REQUESTED A PARDON BETWEEN JULY 1966 AND JULY 1967 WERE INCLUDED IN THE SURVEY. THEY DIFFERED FROM THE GENERAL POPULATION OF OFFENDERS IN AGE (OLDER), REASONS FOR CONVICTION (MORE TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS), AND TYPE OF PUNISHMENT (MORE FREQUENTLY PRISON TERMS). THE PARDONED OFFENDERS WERE MATCHED WITH NONPARDONED GROUP OF CRIMINALS IN AGE, SEX, CRIMINAL PAST, KIND OF LAW THAT WAS BROKEN, KIND OF PUNISHMENT THAT WAS RECEIVED, AND DURATION OF IMPRISONMENT. RECIDIVISM WAS ESTABLISHED IF CONVICTION FOR A NEW CRIME TOOK PLACE WITHIN 6 YEARS AFTER THE LAST CONVICTION. RECIDIVISM WAS DIVIDED INTO THREE CATEGORIES: (1) GENERAL RECIDIVISM, (2) SPECIAL RECIDIVISM (CRIMES WERE COMMITTED IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS BEFORE), AND (3) SPECIFIC RECIDIVISM (EXACTLY THE SAME LAW HAD BEEN BROKEN). THE AMOUNT OF RECIDIVISM AMONG PARDONED CRIMINALS WAS SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN AMONG OFFENDERS WHO HAD NOT BEEN PARDONED. THE RESULT COULD BE EXPLAINED EITHER BY THE FACT THAT THE PARDONED CONVICTS CONSTITUTED A MORE FAVORABLE SELECTION OF CRIMINALS OR BY A POSSIBLE POSITIVE EFFECT OF THE PARDON, SUCH AS A GRATEFUL ATTITUDE AND THE AVOIDANCE OF STIGMATIZATION AS A RESULT OF A STAY IN PRISON. IN ANY CASE, THE RESULT SUGGESTED THAT COMPLETE OR PARTIAL PARDON DID NOT HAVE A NEGATIVE EFFECT ON RECIDIVISM. NO DIFFERENCES WERE OBSERVED BETWEEN THE GROUP WITH CONDITIONAL AND UNCONDITIONAL PARDONS. IN GENERAL, IT COULD BE CONCLUDED THAT REMISSION OF PUNISHMENT DID NOT DECREASE THE PREVENTIVE EFFECT OF PUNISHMENT; THE EXPECTATION THAT CONDITIONAL PARDON WAS PREFERABLE TO UNCONDITIONAL PARDON COULD NOT BE JUSTIFIED. REASONS WERE NOT EXAMINED FOR GRANTING OR REFUSIG PARDONS OR FOR WHEN AND WHY PARDONS WERE REQUESTED. THE STATISTICAL DATA ARE PROVIDED IN A SEPARATE APPENDIX. FOOTNOTES ARE SUPPLIED. --IN DUTCH. (WVK)