[justiceseeker93]

Why shouldn't Pollard be let go by now? I suggest he not be pardoned, but that his sentence be commuted to time served (which is now more than twenty years, much longer than sentences in other cases involving espionage on behalf of allies.). There would be no national security risk involved in letting him live out his sad life as a free man.

[weegee]

Considering that Axis Sally was convicted of treason after WWII and out in 7 years, it is something to consider.

[kabar]

Why shouldn't Pollard be let go by now? I suggest he not be pardoned, but that his sentence be commuted to time served (which is now more than twenty years, much longer than sentences in other cases involving espionage on behalf of allies.)

You seem to have a basic misunderstanding of the penalties handed out to Americans who steal classified information and give it to someone else. It has nothing to do with who receives the information and more to do with the importance of the information itself. Pollard received a life sentence because of what information was compromised. According to a classified memorandum written for the trial judge by then-Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Pollard’s actions amounted to treason. “It is difficult for me…to conceive of a greater harm to national security,” Weinberger wrote.

We have had others who have spied on behalf of Israel, e.g., Larry Franklin, who were not sentenced to life. And there have been other spies like Aldrich Ames and John Walker who received life sentences. To suggest that Pollard was unfairly singled out in terms of punishment is nonsense. Why do you believe that to be the case?