Are you in a jurisdiction that disenfranchises felons? If you are pardoned, you can vote. If your sentencd was commuted, you can't.
Is there a job that bars felons (either in general, or who have committed the kind of offense you are convicted of)? If you are pardoned, you can be hired for it. If your sentencd was commuted, you cannot.
Is there a job that, while it doesn't strictly ban ex-offenders, requires a criminal background check. If you were pardoned, the conviction was wiped away. If your sentence was commuted, it is still there.
Etc. Pardon undoes the conviction. Commutation stops incarceration and leaves the conviction and all its ancillary effects in place.
> Would you find it appropriate to "commute" the sentence of any other terrorists?
If, as one hypothetical pattern, their sentence was unusually long form the crimes they were convicted of with no apparent explanation beyond the political circumstances at the time of conviction, if they'd served more time than the typical sentence for the offense, and their conduct in prison showed a high probability of successful reintegration into society, sure.
Are you in a jurisdiction that disenfranchises felons? If you are pardoned, you can vote. If your sentencd was commuted, you can't.
Is there a job that bars felons (either in general, or who have committed the kind of offense you are convicted of)? If you are pardoned, you can be hired for it. If your sentencd was commuted, you cannot.
Is there a job that, while it doesn't strictly ban ex-offenders, requires a criminal background check. If you were pardoned, the conviction was wiped away. If your sentence was commuted, it is still there.
Etc. Pardon undoes the conviction. Commutation stops incarceration and leaves the conviction and all its ancillary effects in place.
> Would you find it appropriate to "commute" the sentence of any other terrorists?
If, as one hypothetical pattern, their sentence was unusually long form the crimes they were convicted of with no apparent explanation beyond the political circumstances at the time of conviction, if they'd served more time than the typical sentence for the offense, and their conduct in prison showed a high probability of successful reintegration into society, sure.