Clemency

With momentum building for clemency on behalf of Jonathan Pollard, those involved in his conviction are again coming out of the woodwork with fabrications of fact and misleading statements. Last week Joseph DiGenova, the former U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case, was quoted in the Washington Times as alleging it had cost the Defense Department between $3 billion and $5 billion to fix the damage Mr. Pollard caused. Haviland Smith, a retired CIA station chief, charged in The Baltimore Sun ( "Freeing Pollard would be a terrible mistake," Jan. 12)

I agree with Kenneth Lasson's article "Obama should free Pollard" (Feb. 27). Mr. Lasson made a good point in comparing the president's very low record of clemency grants to that of past Presidents like Lincoln, Wilson, Coolidge, Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower and Bush. Meanwhile, numerous illegal immigrants, drug pushers, and other more hardcore criminals have been released from our prisons as part of the president's recent sequester cuts. Also, in Israel there have been thousands of terrorists released from prisons (some with blood on their hands)

The recent commentary by former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. ("Obama's unpardonable neglect of clemency," Jan. 13) was particularly interesting and pointed. In these days of concern about the death penalty, an always important topic aimed at the Democratic political base, few politicians indicate any concern for clemency. It has always been a position of risk. I recall that Governor Ehrlich did this. In his column, he correctly points out that more Republican governors have established histories of clemency and post-conviction relief than have their Democratic colleagues.

The recent commentary by former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. ("Obama's unpardonable neglect of clemency," Jan. 13) was particularly interesting and pointed. In these days of concern about the death penalty, an always important topic aimed at the Democratic political base, few politicians indicate any concern for clemency. It has always been a position of risk. I recall that Governor Ehrlich did this. In his column, he correctly points out that more Republican governors have established histories of clemency and post-conviction relief than have their Democratic colleagues.

One of the under-reported promises made by Congressman Ehrlich in the gubernatorial campaign of 2002 was to re-energize the pardon power in Maryland. My advisers thought it a bit loony to make the pledge, since the race promised to be close and there was little political advantage to be gained. After all, Gov. Parris Glendening had framed his clemency strategy with one brief line - "life means life" - to minimal criticism from his liberal base. Still, I thought it an essential element of the job description to "do justice" through the exercise of this extraordinary power.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. granted clemency to six convicted criminals yesterday, including a man who was found guilty of murder for his role in the 1975 shooting of a Hagerstown grocer. Ehrlich considered about 20 clemency requests, according to his spokeswoman Shareese N. DeLeaver. "These are the ones he found" worthy, she said. Charles Terrell Walters, Jr., 56, of Hagerstown, described by state officials as a model inmate, had his life sentence commuted. He and another man were convicted of breaking into R. Charles Hull's grocery store on March 15, 1975.

WHEN KAREN LYNN Fried was sentenced to life in prison in connection with the murder of a 13-year-old friend, it was with the understanding that she could one day be paroled. That's what anyone would expect who received a sentence of life with the possibility of parole, especially a 17-year-old girl who had her whole life ahead of her. But the man who could have considered Ms. Fried's pleas for clemency adopted his own rule: no parole for lifers convicted of murder or rape. Gov. Parris N. Glendening's policy withstood a court challenge in 1999 -- which underscored the ultimate power of Maryland's chief executive on matters of an inmate's liberty.

If the case had involved anyone else in any other country, it's likely there would be no voices decrying the guilty verdict and six-year sentence meted out by a South African judge this week to Winnie Mandela for her part in the 1988 abduction and assault of four Soweto youths, one of whom was later found murdered near her home.Despite South Africa's discriminatory criminal justice system, the evidence presented in court by government prosecutors was sufficient to warrant a finding of guilty, and the judge acted well within the law in imposing a prison term for Winnie Mandela's crimes.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. granted clemency to 16 people yesterday and issued one medical commutation to a man diagnosed with AIDS. Since 2003, Ehrlich has issued 231 clemency orders, according to a statement. Yesterday's clemency went to: Ernest C. Atkinson Jr., 58, convicted of larceny in 1971 and two counts of larceny after trust in 1975; Derrick D. Dew, 41, convicted of distribution of phencyclidine and possession with intent to distribute heroin in 1986; George Diggle, 35, convicted of breaking and entering in 1989; Jose M. Fernandez Sr., 53, convicted of malicious destruction of property in 1977; and Carolyn D. Gray, 40, convicted of misdemeanor theft in 1998.

The majority of callers to SUNDIAL believe Gov. William Donald Schaefer was correct in granting clemency to eight women convicted of killing their husbands or boyfriends. The majority of callers also believes that state law should be changed to allow spouse abuse as a defense.The eight women were victims of what experts call battered spouse syndrome. But, because of state law, they had not been allowed to raise the defense of abuse at their trials.Of 530 callers yesterday, 346, or 65 percent, said they agree with Schaefer's decision, while 184, or 35 percent, said they disagree.

One of the under-reported promises made by Congressman Ehrlich in the gubernatorial campaign of 2002 was to re-energize the pardon power in Maryland. My advisers thought it a bit loony to make the pledge, since the race promised to be close and there was little political advantage to be gained. After all, Gov. Parris Glendening had framed his clemency strategy with one brief line - "life means life" - to minimal criticism from his liberal base. Still, I thought it an essential element of the job description to "do justice" through the exercise of this extraordinary power.

Since his arrest as a young teenager 29 years ago, Mark Farley Grant has never wavered: He did not kill Michael Gough that winter night in West Baltimore. On Thursday, Gov. Martin O'Malley signed an executive order commuting the sentence of Grant and a Washington, D.C., woman also serving life for murder — the first time O'Malley has used the power during his tenure. Grant's attorney hopes he will walk out of prison before Christmas, "if not long before. " O'Malley "had not to this point granted any clemency requests, so I am extremely grateful to him for exercising his ability to do so in Mark's case," said Renee M. Hutchins, who runs the law clinic at the University of Maryland's Carey School of Law. "I'm firmly convinced of Mark's innocence, so I could not be more delighted.

Gov.Martin O'Malleyis taking steps to grant clemency to two Maryland inmates serving life sentences, including a Baltimore man convicted of murder at age 14 - the first time he has proceeded that far on such an action. Aides said public notices will be posted Wednesday that the two cases are under consideration. Officials say the notices are intended to solicit public feedback, and decisions could be made by the end of the month. During his tenure as governor, O'Malley has denied early release for 57 inmates recommended for release by the state's parole commission.

This Thanksgiving, President Barack Obama will follow a long-standing presidential tradition of pardoning a pair of turkeys. Unfortunately, he has largely neglected another presidential tradition: pardoning human beings. Our Founding Fathers entrusted the president with an extraordinary power - the ability to grant clemency in the form of pardons (which restore civil rights) and commutations (which reduce unjust or excessive sentences) to federal offenders. In almost every state, the governor is given the power to pardon or commute the sentences of those who have broken state laws.

With momentum building for clemency on behalf of Jonathan Pollard, those involved in his conviction are again coming out of the woodwork with fabrications of fact and misleading statements. Last week Joseph DiGenova, the former U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case, was quoted in the Washington Times as alleging it had cost the Defense Department between $3 billion and $5 billion to fix the damage Mr. Pollard caused. Haviland Smith, a retired CIA station chief, charged in The Baltimore Sun ( "Freeing Pollard would be a terrible mistake," Jan. 12)

The gubernatorial candidate who Mark Farley Grant should have been rooting for — because Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. would have considered his well-supported request for clemency — lost the 2010 Maryland election. So Mr. Grant's fate rests where it has rested for nearly 21/2 years: with a Democratic governor who apparently hasn't even read the credible report that exonerates Mr. Grant of a murder that occurred on a winter night in 1983. The background: Farley Grant — he goes by his middle name — was arrested for a murder in West Baltimore when he was 14 years old. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to life in prison when he was 15. He's been incarcerated for 27 years.

Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. granted clemency yesterday to two men convicted of nonviolent crimes. Earlier in the month, he pardoned seven others who had been convicted of offenses ranging from shoplifting to assault. Yesterday's clemency awards went to Melvin Burley, 51, who was convicted of possession of marijuana with the intent to deliver in 1978; and Alcure Walker, 44, who was convicted of carrying a handgun in 1995. Both had long since completed their sentences. The earlier pardons, granted June 6, went to: Timothy Branham, 40, convicted of breaking and entering in 1982; Gary Cooper, 37, convicted of misdemeanor theft in 1988; Claudio Ferrario, 42, convicted in 1986 of driving under the influence of alcohol, reckless driving and failing to stop to identify himself after striking attended and unattended vehicles; Ronald Lent, 64, convicted of assault in 1962 and disorderly conduct in 1963; Patricia Ray, 52, convicted of shoplifting in 1973; and Tonya Roberts, 34, convicted in 1984 of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.

Attorney General nominee Eric H. Holder Jr. repeatedly pushed some of his subordinates at the Clinton Justice Department to drop their opposition to a controversial 1999 grant of clemency to 16 members of two violent Puerto Rican nationalist organizations, according to interviews and documents. Details of the role played by Holder, who was deputy attorney general at the time, have not been publicly known until now. However, the new disclosures are of particular interest because Republican senators vow to revisit Holder's role during his confirmation hearings next week.

More than two years have passed since professors and students at the University of Maryland School of Law finished an investigative report with convincing evidence that Mark Farley Grant, a 43-year-old man serving a life sentence, was wrongfully convicted of murder at the age of 15. They submitted the report to the Maryland governor along with a petition for executive clemency. But Gov. Martin O'Malley hasn't lifted a finger on the Grant case. He's a no-parole-for-lifers Democrat and, this being an election year, he's not about to exert any energy to spring a guy from prison.