exculpate

ex·cul·pate (eks′kəl pāt′, iks′-)

transitive verb -·pat′ed, -·pat′·ing

to free from blame; declare or prove guiltless

Etymology: < L ex, out + culpatus, pp. of culpare, to blame < culpa, fault

ex·cul′·pable (ik skul′pə bəl) adjective ex′·cul·pa′·tion noun ex·cul′·pa·to′ry adjective

To clear of suspicion; to determine the innocence of another.

Object

claimant: The next question, therefore, is whether there was anything in the first statements made by the witnesses which exculpated the claimant.
power: Exculpating the colonial power on such grounds is not unlike saying that Stalin brought about the gulag because he didn't understand political science.

Modifying Another Word

morally: Sometimes the line is very fine between empathically understanding the motives of historical actors and morally exculpating their actions.

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