Illustration by Tim McDonagh
On Dec. 19, 2016—weeks before he left the White House to Donald Trump—Barack Obama, like so many U.S. presidents exiting office, issued a list of pardons. All told, he erased or commuted the sentences of 231 citizens, mainly nonviolent offenders. A few were still incarcerated for acts committed years, even decades ago, but most had already paid their debt to society and simply wanted a fresh start with a clean record.
There was Dawn Mascari, an FBI dispatcher who in 1998 used her inside information to tip off a bookmaker to the fact that he was being investigated.