V.   Adjudication

Absolution is the forgiveness and formal pronouncement of setting free a guilty person of all their crimes by a certain date upon their acknowledgment of genuine remorse and reform of character. Absolution is one of only two forms of valid Punishment, the other being Penitence.

Where an offender willingly shows remorse upon the first opportunity of hearing of the charge(s) against them and at such a plea does offer a reply of "guilty" to all charges brought against them, then such a man or woman shall be eligible to minimum penalty known as absolution.

Where an offender does not offer a guilty plea to each and every charge brought before them at their pre-trial hearing, then they cannot be eligible for absolution, regardless of any revised plea at trial or later date.

The punishment associated with Absolution must be devised so that upon the Offender completing their punishment all ongoing suffering, punishment, stigma is expunged consistent with the notion of absolution. Thus, such a punishment gives those most willing to reform and never re-offend the greatest opportunity of redemption.

Any Jurdic society person that denies absolution and redemption within its statutes automatically injures the law. By definition, justice is absent in any society where either absolution or redemption are unobtainable.