赦

Left red/bare radical - the indexing radical. Originally pictured a large person standing over a fire, evoking the red glow of flame and exposed nakedness. Anchors 赦 in a small but pointed family of words involving exposure or revelation; here the meaning extends metaphorically to the bare, cleansed state of one pardoned.

Right tap radical - pictures a hand holding a stick, the gesture of taking action. Compound ideograph 'red + strike' reads as the ritual gesture of striking the offering or remitting the punishment: the imperial pardon was a formal act, performed with ceremony. Same radical powers 政 government, 改 to alter, 教 to teach.