Ex post facto laws
Since the constitution forbids ex post facto laws can the congress legally pass an amnesty law
Re: Ex post facto laws
Amnesty laws are not ex post facto. They don't retroactively make criminal acts non-criminal. Instead, they prospectively bar prosecutions for certain types of prior crimes under certain conditions. The prior acts would still be crimes; they just would never be prosecuted.
A law that creates criminal liability for past acts would be unconstitutional, but one that removes such liability would not.
