I was reading about the Hon. Alexander Jones and came across a very short bit regarding his court martial and subsequent pardon. Mil already posted about it in the Court Martial thread, but I thought that having a thread about pardons would be interesting.

As Mil asked in her post, how often were pardons of this nature granted?

For the record, Jones was one of the sons of the 4th Viscount Ranelagh.

I notice that the Court Martial, although sentencing him to death, also recommended mercy and that the King complied with the Court's wishes.

Yes. I suppose it was due to the circumstances (in addition to his social status?). Seems Jones and the First Lieutenant (Dean) had an exchange of words, before Jones struck Dean. Dean was found guilty as well for un-officerlike conduct and was dismissed from the navy.