Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of lenity Twelve judges sided with Cargill and concluded that the definition of machine gun was ambiguous enough to invoke a legal principle known as the rule of lenity, which requires courts to interpret unclear criminal laws in a way that's most favorable to the defendant. Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 28 Feb. 2024 The majority’s treatment of the rule of lenity also strikes a slightly sour note. The Insider, Forbes, 15 Apr. 2021 If the rule of lenity applies here, then Butler should not be charged with a hate crime. Mark Joseph Stern, Slate Magazine, 25 Apr. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lenity
Noun
  • As Shiva, Afshari is a revelation of steely resolve, a pragmatist who holds fast to her conciliatory principles until a final scene that pushes her capacity for mercy to its limits.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2025
  • Wounded and bewildered, Theresa vows—silently—never to have that feeling again, never to be at anyone else’s mercy.
    Hilton Als, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • In a proffer, a defendant provides information to prosecutors in exchange for a plea deal or leniency.
    Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Ahead of his sentencing, Combs wrote a letter to the judge pleading for leniency.
    Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • On Monday, the Supreme Court declined to take up her appeal, leaving a pardon or clemency as perhaps her only remaining legal avenue to reduce or remove her sentence.
    Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
  • The acknowledgment came amid a broader conversation about clemency, sparked by questions over the potential pardon of Ghislaine Maxwell.
    Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 7 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Lenity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lenity. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

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