Posted on 04/22/2008 12:07:37 PM PDT by anymouse
It is interesting that the government of Benjamin Netanyahu admitted that Pollard had worked for Israeli intelligence and granted him citizenship. And that the USG charged Pollard with stealing 360 cubic feet of classified secrets and Pollard confessed to stealing classifed information two to three times a day, three to four days a week.
well this just proves that Pollard should serve out his entire sentence.
First of all, there is more than one "judicial system" in the country. Every state has its own, consisting several levels of courts. Then the federal government has its system, with 96 districts, 12 circuits, and a SCOTUS. The mere fact that you did sit on a jury in one case and that case may have gone well does not mean that there aren't instances of injustice sometimes perpetrated, especially when you cansider the massive numbers and variety of cases dealt with on all levels and jurisdictions, both criminal and civil.
Are you questioning [Weinberger's] statement or its factual accuracy?
Until such time as Weinberger's memorandum is declassified and made available for public scrutiny, it is perfectly reasonable to question its accuracy, because we don't know its content. Furthermore, we don't even know if Weinberger himself wrote it (probably not) or even approved of it before it went to the court.
Defending Pollard is defending the indefensible.
I am not "defending" Pollard. I do not wish him to receive a pardon, but am suggesting only that his sentence be commuted to time served, becuase I believe that a life sentence in his case was disproportionately harsh.
In many ways, due to the sensitivity of his position, he is similar to Ames, Hannsen [sic], Brian Reagan, etc., who also received life sentences.
As for Ames and Hansen, yes, they shared with Pollard a position with a high level of public trust. But, IIRC, Ames and Hansen had spied for the Soviet Union. That, in general, represents a much higher level of danger to national security than spying for Israel. I am not familiar at all with the Brian Reagan case.
http://cicentre.com/Documents/DOC_Brian_Patrick_Regan_Death_Penalty_Notification.htm
Again their case is flawed. Regan (not Reagan) spied for Iraq and Lybia, hardly in the same class as Israel. If they were serious about making their case, they would find us someone who spied for an ally, such as Taiwan, South Korea, etc. who was put in prison for life. Instead they keep coming up with people who spied for enemies. They use the Rosenbergs, Hansen, Ames, etc. Find me the guy who has been in prison for over 20 years for spying for Canada and I will concede defeat.
I will trust the USG and Weinberger over Pollard.
I am not "defending" Pollard. I do not wish him to receive a pardon, but am suggesting only that his sentence be commuted to time served, becuase I believe that a life sentence in his case was disproportionately harsh.
Pollard's supporters in the United States also routinely request that he be pardoned. President Clinton reportedly considered a pardon, but defense and intelligence agency officials have vigorously opposed the idea. At the end of Clinton's term, the issue was again raised and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), chairman of the Senate's Select Committee on Intelligence, along with a majority of senators argued against a pardon. "Mr. Pollard is a convicted spy who put our national security at risk and endangered the lives of our intelligence officers," Shelby said. “There not terms strong enough to express my belief that Mr. Pollard should serve every minute of his sentence.
As for Ames and Hansen, yes, they shared with Pollard a position with a high level of public trust. But, IIRC, Ames and Hansen had spied for the Soviet Union. That, in general, represents a much higher level of danger to national security than spying for Israel.
The agent in charge of counterintelligence for the Naval Investigative Service who caught Pollard has said that he was involved in illegal activities to help countries besides Israel. Ron Olive wrote that Pollard confessed that before he spied for Israel, he passed classified information to South Africa, his civilian financial advisers and a member of the Australian Royal Navy. He also admitted passing documents to Pakistan “in the hopes it would take him on as a spy.” Olive quotes Pollard during a debriefing after he pleaded guilty saying, “If I could see it, and touch it, you can assume I got it....My only limitation was what I couldn't carry.”
Before sentencing, and in violation of the plea agreement, Pollard and his wife Anne gave defiant media interviews in which they defended their spying, and attempted to rally American Jews to their cause. In a 60 Minutes interview, Anne said, “I feel my husband and I did what we were expected to do, and what our moral obligation was as Jews, what our moral obligation was as human beings, and I have no regrets about that.”
It has often been reported that Pollard’s life sentence was the most severe prison term ever given for spying for an ally, but agent Olive says this is untrue and notes that “espionage statutes do not differentiate between adversaries and allies.”
That is an excellent point and one which good and established governments should have as a capital offense. Still, it is NOT one that the US Constitution would permit. What was the law in the states in which the Rosenbergs operated?
We tried them in the wrong venue, or we need a change in the Constitution.
The Federal government has too many criminal laws -- the criminal codes under Federal jurisdiction should be either to the state in which the Federal power or authority is exercised, or to a territorial legislative body and/or governor, or to a military tribunal.
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