Providing amnesty

Granting the release or milder sentences to criminals or political prisoners. Amnesty may also clear the police record of a person who has already served a term of punishment. A pardon might be granted to prisoners in general, to those who have committed certain types of crime or political acts or for specific groups of people. Often an amnesty is used to mark a particularly important historical event or celebration or to indicate the humanism and benevolence of political leaders. It can be a mechanism to re-establish the legitimacy of a group of people who have been denied political rights by an earlier government.

Amnesty may require public announcements of the event to be effective socially.