While We Are Handing Out Pardons

It is well known that many of Scooter Libby's supporters were disappointed that President Bush did not grant a full and unconditional pardon in his case (instead of a mere commutation of sentence). Apparently, those persons are completely ignorant of the blogger theory that Bush would have done massive damage to himself and his administration by granting a pardon (see my commentary here). It appears that President Bush is not aware of the blogger theory either as - when asked - he refuses to rule out the possibility of pardon for Libby. Why, even the Democrats are clueless on this point. They have warned Bush not to grant a pardon from the get-go, and have recently passed a meaningless resolution in the Senate calling on the President to avoid granting a pardon in the future! How can they not see what a boon a presidential pardon would be for all of the hungry investigating committees which their Party controls? Are they not aware of the massive cover-up?

Meanwhile, there are some interesting calls for additional pardons, even from Bush's critics. Some, if granted, would be considerably "controversial." Other would probably appear quite reasonable:Jonanthan Rauch, senior writer and columnist for National Journal, has made a convincing case for the pardon of David H. McNab, the owner of a company that harvested lobster and shrimp in Honduras. McNab was convicted on the basis of a law which had been repealed and has been in federal prison since 2001. Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Margaret Colgate Love and Sports Illustrated commentator Frank Deford recommend pardon for former Major League baseball first baseman and World Series standout Willie Mays Aikens, who sold 63 grams of crack cocaine to an undercover agent and is in the 13th year of a 20-year sentence. Deford finds it critical that the agent actually came to Aikens' house and encouraged him to cook up the crack. This resulted in a sentence much more harsh than would have resulted from the mere possession of cocaine.

Several members of Congress have called upon Bush to pardon Border Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, serving 11 and 12 year sentences respectively for shooting a fleeing drug smuggler. But Bush has described the prosecuting attorney in the case as a "dear friend." A letter writing campaign has also been launched to secure a pardon for R&B legend Ron Isley who is facing a three-year prison sentence for tax evasion. The 64 year old singer, a first-time offender, is recovering from a stroke and is battling kidney cancer. Douglas Patton is calling for the pardon of Duane Chapman (a.k.a. "Dog" the Bounty Hunter), who is to be extradited to Mexico to stand trial for "deprivation of liberty" in the 2003 apprehension of a serial rapist who was eventually convicted and sentenced to 124 years in prison. But Chapman himself has been arrested for robbery 18 times and has even served time for being an accessory to murder.

Filmmaker Ken Burns and Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy have also called for the posthumous pardon of boxer Jack Johnson, who was sentenced to one year in prison for violating the Mann Act. Johnson died in a car wreck in 1946. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times is calling for executive clemency on behalf of John Walker Lindh, an American who received a 20-year sentence after being captured in the mountains of Afghanistan. He was charged with terrorism in a 10-count indictment.

I join myself with those calling for the posthumous pardon of O.Henry but, you know, I don't think anyone is really listening.