Clemency
Etymology
From Latin "clementia" (mildness, gentleness, calmness), from "clemens" (mild, placid), of uncertain further origin. In Rome "clementia" was prized as a ruler’s virtue — Seneca wrote a treatise "De Clementia" advising the emperor Nero on it — and the word has kept its association with power exercised with restraint. It entered English via Old French.
noun · /KLEM-uhn-see/
Leniency shown by someone in authority toward an offender or enemy.
What it names
Reach for it to name mercy exercised as a formal, discretionary power — the pardon, commutation, or gentleness a ruler or court chooses to extend.
Example
The governor granted clemency, commuting the sentence weeks before the execution date.
Related idea
Mercy is the broad human quality of sparing deserved harm; clemency is that quality wielded institutionally, by those with the authority to punish. Clemency thus always implies a power relationship — the mighty being mild.