Amnesty is defined as "A pardon extended by a government to a group or class of people, usually for a political offense; the act of a sovereign power officially forgiving certain classes of people who are subject to trial but have not yet been convicted." Though the term "general pardon" has a similar definition, an amnesty constitutes more than a pardon, in so much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the offense. An amnesty law is any law that retroactively exempts a select group of people, usually military and government leaders, from criminal liability for crimes committed.