05/29/2026
Canada vs USA Homicide Rate per 100,000.
A Quote Often Used in Criminal Justice Reform from the Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky wrote:
"The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons."
He believed that how a society treats offenders reveals its true character. For a pardon or record suspension presentation, Hannah Arendt's quote is especially powerful:
"Without being forgiven, released from the consequences of what we have done, our capacity to act would be confined to one single deed."
It captures the idea that a person's entire future should not be defined by a single mistake. Pardons are more readily available in Canada compared to the USA, erasing the stigma and barriers to employment. Pardons have been proven to facilitate rehabilitation.
