Before leaving for the holidays, President Bush on Tuesday commuted one prison sentence and granted 19 pardons, including one to a man who helped the Jewish resistance in the 1940s.
With this latest batch, which includes forgiveness for convictions ranging from gun and drug violations to bank and mail fraud, Bush has granted a total of 191 pardons and nine commutations. That’s fewer than half as many as Presidents Clinton or Reagan issued during their two terms.
Included in the latest list is Charles Winters, who died in the 1980s in Florida. Winters helped ship arms and aircraft to Jews trying to found their own state in the Middle East. He was convicted of violating the Neutrality Act and served 18 months in prison. Two others, Herman Greenspun and Al Schwimmer, also were convicted but did not serve time. They were later granted presidential pardons.
The only other presidential pardon granted posthumously in recent times was given to Henry O. Flipper, the first black graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Flipper was drummed out of the Army after white officers mistakenly accused him of embezzling about $3,800 from commissary funds.
In addition to Winters, others granted pardons were:
–William Alvis III, of Flushing, Ohio.
–John Allen Aregood of Riviera, Texas.
–Eric Charles Blanke of Parker, Colo.
–Steve Doyle Cavender of The Villages, Fla.
–Marie Elena Eppens of Lynden, Wash.
–Lydia Lee Ferguson of Sun City, Ariz.
–Eduviges Duvi Gonzalez-Matsumura of Clovis, Calif.
–George Clarence Greene Jr. of Gray, Ga.
–James Won Hee Kang of South Barrington, Ill.
–Alan Stephen Maiss of Reno, Nev.
–Richard Harold Miller of Tallahassee, Fla.
–Delano Abraham Nixon of Neosho Rapids, Kan.
–John H. Overholt of Black Hawk, S.D.
–Morris Keith Parker of Georgetown, S.C.
–Robert Truman Reece of Redondo Beach, Calif.
–Donald Edward Roessler of Harrison, Ohio.
–Issac Robert Toussie of Brooklyn, N.Y.
–David Lane Woolsey of St. George, Utah.
Bush also commuted the prison sentence of Reed Raymond Prior of Des Moines, Iowa.
EDITORS NOTE: Behind the scenes, askonim from all walks of communal life have been diligently working together in unprecedented cooperation – and using every available angle to free Jonathan Pollard. Now is your chance to stand up for the silent suffering and make a difference!!
A nationwide grass roots effort on behalf of Jonathan Pollard was officially launched one month ago. People are encouraged to click freepollardnow.com to join the effort to help set Jonathan Pollard free.
With less than two months until President George Bush leaves office, this grass roots effort is intended to remind the White House of Jonathan Pollard’s plight and to push for a commutation of his prison sentence.
Because it is critical that the White House hear from as many people as possible in the next several weeks, visitors to freepollardnow.com are urged to call, fax, and send letters to President Bush on a daily basis. The website provides contact information for the White House, a sample letter that people can fax or mail, and an online petition that will be sent to President Bush. Visitors to freepollardnow.com are reminded that just 60 seconds a day can help Jonathan Pollard go free.
(Associated Press / Dov Gordon – YWN)
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21 Responses
It appears that Winters is President Bush’s token pardon for the Jewish Community and it does not look good for Pollard.
I don’t mean to say that anyone should give up, but a pardon is not forthcoming. Not from Bush, not from Obama, not from any future president.
As long as our self hating priministers in Israel don”t DEMAND Pollards release WE can dream on.
P.S. I would suggest A nationwide grass roots effort on behalf of Jonathan Pollard to be launched Aiming at the Israeli politicians Askonim should speak about this to join the effort to help set Jonathan Pollard free.
#2-i dont think you should share your pessimism publicly. and if you are right, hashem yeracheim on pollard…
winters died already?! so why does he need a pardon?
Please email the [email protected] and
ask him to PARDON JONATHAN POLLARD. We can do it.
If enough people make the request and if enough people show that we really do care then we could free Pollard. Yes, we can.
“Afilu cherev chada munachat al tzavaro shel adam al yimna atzmo min harachamim”.
Stop being pessimistic and just do what needs to be done.
#2, we still have to do all our histadlus to help free a captive Jew.
Why does a dead guy need pardon? If Bush wants a token jew pardon, jst pardon every dead jew who’s ever been in jail!
#4 thehocker-
But up in shomayim……
i never could figure out why bush never pardoned pollard!!
Here is a letter I emailed, feel free to copy it.
Dear President Bush,
I first of all want to congratulate you and thank you for a job very well done in the last 8 years. Although the polls might show that you aren’t so appreciated, but I, in all sincerity, think that you were one of Americas greatest and most courageous Presidents, and my feeling is that history will judge you differently then you are being judged today. So I would like to express my gratitude to you for being a great leader, and role model for all of us.
Second, I would like to bring to your attention something that I am sure you already heard of, but nevertheless I would like to bring it up. And that is the prison sentence of Jonathan Pollard. Now, I don’t have to tell you all the convincing facts of why he should be freed; the length of his sentence compared to others of similar crimes, his sincere remorse, and his deteriorating health, among other valid reasons, because I’m sure you heard them all. And I also don’t know what the Israeli Prime Minister told you; if he’s for it or against it. I am just a regular citizen, and when look at a picture of you, I see a man of Faith, of conviction, and of strong beliefs. So I would like to appeal to you as the person that I know, who knows the difference between right and wrong, to judge this man with your conscience and with your beliefs on what is right, and I trust that you will come to the right conclusion.
Well, I think President pardoned atleast one Jew that is alive. I think Issac Robert Toussie is Jewish.
I hear there is some hope for a frum prisoner pardon. Lets Daven that it comes to fruition; even a ganev has a din of Pidyon Shevuim.
I hope that the Bernie scandal wont have a bad effect on the pardon effort for a frum Ponzi artist hoping to be pardoned.
In my humble oppinion, Israel’s, or at least Israeli officials, should not contact anyone in the U.S. goverment directly. They will only make the situation worse. Bush cannot give in to foreign pressure.
To #20, #18, and #11 from the Madoff article:
I am currently a student at Yeshiva University. I am first back in my room with an opportunity to read the daily news updates at 10:15 PM after I completed night seder and davened maariv. I woke up at 7:30 AM this morning to daven with the Yeshiva in what was a beautiful minyan with a gorgeous hallel. You should come by one morning for shachris. It may be a little longer than you are used to or a little earlier than you normally wake up but there is nothing like davening at a Yeshiva minyan. After shachris, I went straight to the Beis Medrash to learn morning seder. After 3 hours of learning, I ate a quick lunch and went to hear an hour-and-a-half shiur. I then davened mincha and went to my college classes. With the semester winding down, I had some free time so I joined the already packed Beis Medrash for afternoon seder. That’s why I wasn’t able to repsond to your YU bashing right after you wrote your comments. I, along with hundreds of other YU students, was learning Torah not surfing the internet. A little before 5:00 PM I went to light the menorah and I stayed by my candles to learn something not surf the internet. Then I went to my rebbi’s house for a mesiba that ended in time for night seder.
After a long day of Talmud Torah, I finally have the time to respond to your YU bashing. If you talk so much smack about us not being a Yeshiva, why don’t you come down to our Beis Medrash and talk to one of our Roshei Yeshiva about any sugya in Shas. They can meet you anytime, day or night, as they are always in the Beis Medrash. Even if the middle of the afternoon is not a good time for you because you are surfing the internet and not learning afternoon seder, feel free to come earlier or later because our roshei yehsiva are always there. If you don’t want to come and see that we are indeed a Yeshiva then keep your mouths shut. Your are spreading richilus and you are being mivazeh talmud torah.
Why is Jonathan any more important than all the heimishe yidden sitting for various crimes that they comitted? Our jobs as Frum yidden is to lobby for all of us, and not specifically one!
While Bush put out a picture of himself crying with an alleged real tear with regards to Mumbai, he should formally address the issue of Jonathan Pollard as to where he stands on the matter, as it is one of the major concerns or our community, as well.
I can sort of understand why Pollard wasn’t pardoned. The classified information he gave to Israel really left the US with a huge security concern. How would it look if Bush pardoned someone who jeopardized US security to an unprecedented degree? We as Orthodox Jews also have to be concerned – do we want our efforts to free Pollard to be understood by the rest of the world as efforts to free someone who severely jeopardized US security? Do we want that accusation on our heads?
#21, Moe. Empathizing with those who feel Pollard did wrong is one thing. Saying there should be an endless punishment for him when the crime and the precedent of others in a similar situation dont call for it, is another thing. Our wanting to free Pollard is based on a realistic concern for a fellow Jew further based on a realistic understanding and expectation that had it been anyone else, they would be out and free, having paid their debt to society.
21/veryinteresting: thanks for your comments. I understand the desire to do all in our control to free a fellow Jew, but I think think this has to be viewed within the broader sense. From the eyes of the (unpopular) president, is it worthwhile to leave office with this high profile security case on his shoulders? From the Orthodox community’s perspective, do we want to be viewed as giving higher priority to the plight of our own kind vs. the concern of national security? Should we approach this rationally and not emotionally?