

I don’t think money is the solution. The pardon exists to correct errors in the justice system. It is inadequate and insufficient to solve all those errors on its own but it can be useful in certain contexts. I think we should be pardoning more people in a thoughtful way, not less.
Clearly the issue here has more to do with Trump being a piece of shit than it does with the existence of a system for granting clemency. You could make the argument that a review board or some other form of independent review would be a good thing to add to the process but you could also make the argument that the best solution is simply to not make a self-serving piece of shit the President.
Ok, fine, but is making the president put up collateral going to achieve that outcome? It seems more likely to encourage bribing the president to give wealthy criminals a pardon while ignoring those who can’t pay the toll.