State Assembly of NY Appeal to President Clinton: Free Pollard Now!


THE ASSEMBLY
STATE OF NEW YORK
ALBANY

March 9, 1993

President Bill Clinton
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500

Dear President Clinton:

In the five weeks since your inauguration you have already repeatedly exhibited the qualities for which the American people elected you President of the United States. Your rare ability to assimilate information and assess contributory factors and then make a determination that puts people first is rapidly becoming a most welcome expectation.

Compassion is yet another character trait you have exhibited and it is in this context that individual members of the New York State Assembly wish to collectively make an appeal.

We urge you to commute the lifetime sentence of Jonathan Pollard to time already served.

You, as our President, can ensure justice by reducing the unduly harsh and severe sentence imposed, compared to sentences given to other Americans convicted of similar or greater crimes.

Jonathan Pollard has already served almost seven years in solitary confinement, a period of time longer than sentences typically imposed by American courts. His sentence has been called a miscarriage of justice by such celebrated public figures as: The Reverend Theodore Hesburg, Elie Wiesel, Rabby Norman Lamm, The Reverend Robert F. Drinan, Seymour Reich, Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, Pat Robertson, Rabbi Emanuel Rackman, The Right Reverend Paul Moore Jr. and Rabbi Aaron Soloveitchik. They and other clergy, representative of many denominations, have urged mercy and compassion.

We are certain that your analysis will reflect an opinion reached by members of this body that Jonathan Pollard received excessive punishment; and that he deserves mercy, compassion and justice. We are confident that you will commute his sentence to time already served.

Again, please accept our best wishes for continued success.

Very truly yours,

*Signed

HON. SAMUEL COLMAN
HON. SHELDON SILVER
HON. THOMAS DINAPOLI
HON. JOHN COCHRANE
HON. LAWRENCE BENNETT
HON. ARNOLD PROSKIN
HON. ALEXANDER GROMACK
HON. NETTIE MAYERSOHN
HON. STEPHEN B. KAUFMAN
HON. DAVID SIDIKMAN
HON. GEORGE FRIEDMAN
HON. BRIAN M. MCLAUGHLIN

*JP note

: plus an additional 40 legislators