Legal Definitions - indulto

Term: Indulto
Definition: Indulto is a Spanish word that means a pardon or amnesty. It is a legal act of forgiving someone for a crime they have committed. It is usually granted by a government or a monarch. In the past, indulto was also a duty paid on imported goods to the Spanish or Portuguese Crown.
Examples:

• The president granted an indulto to the prisoners who had served their sentences and showed good behavior.
• The king issued an indulto to the rebels who surrendered and promised to lay down their arms.
• The indulto was a tax imposed on goods imported from the colonies to the mother country.

Explanation: The examples illustrate the two meanings of indulto. The first two examples show how indulto is used to pardon or forgive someone who has committed a crime or a rebellion. The last example shows how indulto was used in the past as a tax on imported goods.