Some of these people truly were innocent though and just victims of a less-tolerant time. Why shouldn't the situation be rectified, if possible, to give dignity back to the convicted's family? It's not like it takes a lot of effort.
Of course they were.
Why shouldn't the situation be rectified, if possible, to give dignity back to the convicted's family?
OK, what if the guy is guilty? Some president gives a posthumous pardon under pressure from a convict's family and it's discovered later that the guy was guilty as sin and a monster. What then?
It's not like it takes a lot of effort.
You are exactly right. It takes nothing. It means nothing. It is an empty, useless gesture. It trivializes the awesome power of presidential pardons and I would much rather have the president overturn real injustice than give his stamp of approval to a family who is, apparently, not sufficiently convinced of their dead relative's innocence that they need an official imprimatur.