» For the human rights organization, see Amnesty International. Amnesty (from the Greek amnestia, oblivion) is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the position of innocent persons. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offense. The word has the same root as amnesia. Amnesties, which in the United Kingdom, may be granted by the crown alone, or by an act of Parliament,… (More on Amnesty)