Pollard felt above the law; now he has to reap the consequences. Since the road to hell is paved with good intentions, his good intentions are not good enough.
Another reason why it is criminal to steal US intel, no matter the reasons, is that once it's out of US hands, we cannot control who sees it.
Now Pollard whined that he----and his ex-wife Anne who was in on the conspiracy----were altruists, motivated to spy by the purest intentions.
Yet, Pollard pocketed money, and the wife received expensive jewelry, as payments for stealing US intel that was sold to America's enemies.
So much for altruism.