Why was Peter Yarrow pardoned by Jimmy Carter? Reason explored

Singer Peter Yarrow has posthumously come to the forefront of controversy as one of his s*xual assault victims has come forth to claim that once he was pardoned by former President Jimmy Carter, his crimes were buried as well. Yarrow died this week at age 86, having succumbed to bladder cancer, The Guardian has reported.

Yarrow, renowned for his work in the folk band Peter, Paul, and Mary, served a brief stint in prison for having molested a then-14-year-old girl named Barbara Winter. However, within three months, President Carter pardoned the singer on his last full day in office in 1981.

To this day, the exact reason remains unknown, though, during a May 2021 interview with the Washington Post, Winter said that upon learning of the news, she felt like she "got sucker-punched in the gut."

"It’s telling him, ‘It’s OK what you did, just don’t get caught next time,’ if that makes sense," she continued.

Peter Yarrow's life and legacy explored: crimes, victims, and more

As reported by Distractify, on August 31, 1969, Barbara Winter and her sister were attending church in Washington, D.C., and at the time, Yarrow was in town to perform at some concerts. Winter, then 14, and her sister, a massive fan of the singer, walked over to his hotel.

Upon arrival, they rang up Peter Yarrow's room from the hotel lobby, only to be invited up. Much to their surprise, however, when they entered his room, they found Yarrow naked and waiting for them. He forced Winter to engage in lewd acts for him. Speaking with the Washington News, she said:

"It happened when I was just an innocent child. I didn’t know anything. I was just a little girl that liked to play with her friends."

As for her sister, she told the outlet:

"I can’t say for sure [what happened] because I wasn’t in the room...she was in the room by herself with him for five minutes, and I was right outside."

Peter Yarrow initially told her to keep the incident a secret, though when she finally told one of her friends six months later, things escalated. Soon, Yarrow was pleading guilty to "immoral and improper liberties" with a minor. He was facing up to 10 years in prison, though he was only given one to three.

Cut to three months later, and one-third of the Peter, Paul, and Mary trio was given the presidential pardon. He made it out just in time for that year's Thanksgiving. Speaking with the New York Times in 2019, he reflected on his crimes:

"I do not seek to minimise or excuse what I have done and I cannot adequately express my apologies and sorrow for the pain and injury I have caused."

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Peter Yarrow leaves behind his wife Marybeth, son Christopher, Bethany, and granddaughter Valentina.

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