NH Executive Council’s decision to deny pardon sparks heated debate

By Rob Levey

Last month’s decision by the NH Executive Council to deny a pardon for Thomas Schoolcraft, who was convicted of committing a series of burglaries nine years ago at the age of 19, reveals a fundamental divide among NH citizens. When the Live Free or Die Alliance (LFDA) asked citizens on its Facebook question: Do you agree with the NH Executive Council’s refusal to grant a pardon to a former burglar turned corrections officer? revolved around how society defines the purpose of rehabilitation.

After serving ten months in jail, Schoolcraft went on to earn a college degree and become a Cheshire County corrections officer. Currently working towards his Master’s Degree in Criminology, Schoolcraft sought a pardon to become a state corrections officer.

In the NH Executive Council’s refusal to grant him a pardon, however, many LFDA members rhetorically questioned the need to continue to “punish” Schoolcraft given the improvements he has made in his life. As one gentleman remarked, “If prison is to punish people and the person serves his time, why are they then punished afterwards?”

Some of the citizens noted that the Schoolcraft story represents an ideal case for rehabilitation. “The system worked,” said one respondent. “Now we’re going to punish him again.” Others expressed the belief that people deserve second chances. In serving his time, one gentleman indicated Schoolcraft “paid in full his debt to society.”

Among those who agreed with the NH Executive Council’s decision, the specific nature of the crime was cited as a plausible reason for refusal. “If he had only done one theft and got caught…maybe a pardon, but this person committed nine crimes,” cited one individual.

Schoolcraft’s age at the time he committed these crimes, however, seemed to somewhat complicate the issue for many citizens. “I can relate to making a ton of mistakes in my youth,” added one commentator, “but typically I didn’t keep making the same mistake over and over again.”

Some argued that a 19-year-old individual is not an adult and should be held to different standards. “Your brain doesn’t even reach its full development before your mid-late 20s,” said one respondent. But other members strongly disagreed. “He was not a ‘kid’ when he was 19—he was a grown man making selfish decisions,” said one gentleman.

Finally, there were those who saw merit to both sides of the argument, including one gentleman who noted the need for legislators to revisit the law itself. “There’s a huge difference between whether Mr. Schoolcraft should be free to be a Corrections Officer and whether the means should be via Executive Branch and granting of pardons,” he remarked. Honestly, it sounds like we need to ease up our laws on the books, which is the Legislature’s job.”

In presenting this question on September 5th, the LFDA received 337 responses within two days including 88 specific respondents and 216 concurrences. Of these, 49 % disagreed with the NH Executive Council’s refusal, 29% agreed, 16% did not take a clear position, while 2% saw both sides of the issue

The LFDA presents this report as a summary of citizen testimony as opposed to a scientific poll or survey. As New Hampshire’s Virtual Town Hall, the nonprofit, nonpartisan LFDA, now numbering over 20,000, provides objective information about state issues, promotes the civil exchange of opinions and communicates citizen views to elected officials.