The idea of clemency has been around since before there were printing presses. And when our country took shape this article of faith found a home in the charters of the nation and the states. For more than two centuries, ink-stained paper petitions have wended their way to presidents and governors pleading for mercy and asking for justice. But in an increasingly paperless society, these stories are being told through the new template of online media.
The Internet is providing new information streams for client advocacy rooted in the print world, and inmate letters and newspaper stories have established patterns that can carry over to the new media. So it is that the virtues of technology might illuminate the values of clemency.
