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The senseless and savage slaying of 4 police officers in Lakewood, Washington has raised many questions as to why the alleged murderer was even on the streets. My name has figured prominently in many of the stories because I commuted his 108 year sentence to a term of 47 years back in 2000. I take full responsibility for my decision then. Unfortunately, many of my fellow conservatives don’t seem to want to take responsibility for the facts surrounding the case. The Maurice Clemmons presented in a commutation request in the year 2000 was much different than the one who is...

President Obama Pardons Turkey U.S. President Obama waved his hand over Courage the turkey Wednesday, pardoning the bird from being the guest of honor on someone's Thanksgiving Day table. "I hereby pardon Courage so he can live out his days in peace and tranquility" in Disneyland, where he also will serve as grand marshal Thursday in the Orlando, Fla., theme park's Thanksgiving Day parade. Obama said he was showing mercy to the 45-pound bird at the behest of first daughters Sasha and Malia because "I was planning to eat this sucker."

The traditional presidential pardon of a turkey will be a little different this year. The turkey pardoned will most likely be Cold Cash Jefferson.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John McCain on Friday pressed President Barack Obama to give a posthumous pardon to Jack Johnson, the black heavyweight boxing champion who was imprisoned nearly a century ago because of his romantic ties with a white woman. McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., noted in a letter to Obama that both houses of Congress this summer passed their resolution urging a pardon. After the vote, the lawmakers wrote to Obama in August asking him to issue the pardon. "Regrettably, we have not received a response from you or any member of your administration," they wrote...

WASHINGTON – A federal judge has denied the request for a new trial by a former Louisiana congressman convicted on corruption charges. U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III ruled against a motion by former Rep. William Jefferson on Friday in Alexandria, Va. Jefferson was convicted Aug. 5 on 11 of 16 federal counts for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa after federal agents found cash in his freezer. A jury ruled Jefferson must forfeit roughly $470,000. He later filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation.

Border Patrol agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos could be eligible to leave federal prison within days – though their official release date is still set for March 20, a spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons has confirmed. BOP spokeswoman Traci Billingsley told WND that inmates may serve their sentences in arranged living facilities or home confinement before they are given their full freedom. "On their release date, all Bureau of Prisons inmates are generally released from one of three places," she said. "They're either released from an institution, a residential reentry center (halfway house) or they're released from...

One of Connecticut’s most popular conservative radio talk show hosts, Jim Vicevich, uses many different Americana bumper music in his show’s rotation. One song in particular that Jim often uses - that absolutely blesses my heart - is by the Blue Grass Americana group named Cadillac Sky. The song is called Sinners Welcome. This song starts off with a soft vocal melody: One more night in the county jail Ain’t nobody gonna make your bail Behind these bars you’ll do your time Got yourself 25 to life. And the chorus: Sinners Welcome, No man denied Sinners Welcome, Save your soul...

On his way out of office, President Bush used his power of the pardon to commute the sentences of former U.S. Border Patrol agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who had been sentenced to 11 years and 12 years respectively for shooting and wounding a fleeing drug smuggler in 2005 and then covering up the incident. It was the right move. Ramos and Compean supporters no doubt would have preferred it if Bush had pardoned the agents - which would have cleared their criminal records. In that Bush had stood by U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton's prosecution of the agents, as...

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush says he will issue no more pardons or commutations before the transfer of power set for tomorrow.

Section 1-2.113 Standards for Considering Commutation Petitions A commutation of sentence reduces the period of incarceration; it does not imply forgiveness of the underlying offense, but simply remits a portion of the punishment. It has no effect upon the underlying conviction and does not necessarily reflect upon the fairness of the sentence originally imposed. Requests for commutation generally are not accepted unless and until a person has begun serving that sentence. Nor are commutation requests generally accepted from persons who are presently challenging their convictions or sentences through appeal or other court proceeding. The President may commute a sentence to...

Section 1-2.112 Standards for Considering Pardon Petitions In general, a pardon is granted on the basis of the petitioner's demonstrated good conduct for a substantial period of time after conviction and service of sentence. The Department's regulations require a petitioner to wait a period of at least five years after conviction or release from confinement (whichever is later) before filing a pardon application (28 C.F.R. § 1.2). In determining whether a particular petitioner should be recommended for a pardon, the following are the principal factors taken into account. 1. Post-conviction conduct, character, and reputation. An individual's demonstrated ability to lead...

– WASHINGTON (AP) — In his final acts of clemency, President George W. Bush on Monday commuted the prison sentences of two former U.S. Border Patrol agents whose convictions for shooting a Mexican drug dealer ignited fierce debate about illegal immigration. Bush's decision to commute the sentences of Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who tried to cover up the shooting, was welcomed by both Republican and Democratic members of Congress. They had long argued that the agents were merely doing their jobs, defending the American border against criminals. They also maintained that the more than 10-year prison sentences the pair...

If the President hasn't already pardoned Lewis (Scooter) Libby, I beg him to reconsider and do so, for Libby is an innocent man. Most of what people believe about the Scooter Libby case was proven wrong at trial. Many wrongly believe: 1) Libby leaked the CIA employment of Valerie Plame; and 2) he then lied to cover his leaking.

In December, I was asked to file a second report on an automobile accident that took place back in September, during a visit to Los Angeles. A truck slammed into my car from behind while I was stopped at a traffic light. As I sat down to write a new report, I tried to recall the details, beginning with where the accident took place, which I remembered as having been on Wilshire Boulevard. Fortunately, I had saved a copy of my first report on this same accident, which showed that it took place on Santa Monica Boulevard, not Wilshire, which...

A White House letter tells the father his request on behalf of Sgt. Evan Vela will be 'seriously considered.' The father of an eastern Idaho soldier convicted of killing an unarmed Iraqi says the White House has confirmed that President Bush is considering a request for a pardon. Curtis Carnahan said he received a letter from the White House last week. "Please know that your views on this matter will be seriously considered," it said. Sgt. Evan Vela,a 24-year-old U.S. Army sniper,was convicted in February and sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing an unarmed Iraqi civilian who stumbled...

If President Bush had been looking for a textbook case of a federal offender who should never win a presidential pardon, Isaac R. Toussie would fit the bill. Toussie is the sort of amoral swell who contributed to the 2008 mortgage meltdown. In 2001, he pleaded guilty to making false statements to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. In 2002 he pleaded guilty to mail fraud in a scam to get Suffolk County, N.Y., to overpay for land. The New York Times noted, "The name of Isaac Toussie is detested by many working-class people in the New York metropolitan...

AUSTIN — A South Texas rancher got a good-news phone call Tuesday about a presidential pardon that wipes away a felony conviction for hiring undocumented workers to harvest his watermelons 16 years ago. "I really don't know why or anything," said John Allen Aregood, of Riviera, a ranching town about 11 miles south of Kingsville. "It's just a good Christmas present." He was one of 19 people granted pardons Tuesday by President George W. Bush. The only Texan on the list, Aregood paid a modest fine and served two years of probation after his conviction for aiding and harboring unauthorized...

It was just reported on the show KFI Los Angeles that George W. Bush has pardoned an individual named John Allen Aregood of Riviera, Texas, who was apparently convicted of conspiracy to harbor and transport illegal aliens.

BAGHDAD (AP) - A spokesman for Iraq's prime minister says the journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush has asked for a pardon. Spokesman Yassin Majid says that in a letter sent Thursday to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki the journalist described his behavior as "an ugly act" and asked to be pardoned. Majid says that Muntadhar al-Zeidi in the letter recalls the kindness the prime minister once showed him during an interview in 2005 and asked for al-Maliki to show him kindness once again. Al-Zeidi, a correspondent for an Iraqi-owned television station based in Cairo, Egypt, could...

BAGHDAD – The jailed journalist who threw his shoes at President George W. Bush has asked for a pardon for what he described as "an ugly act," a spokesman for Iraq's prime minister said Thursday. Muntadhar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for an Iraqi-owned television station based in Cairo, Egypt, could face two years imprisonment for insulting a foreign leader. He remained in custody Thursday night. "It is too late to now to regret the big and ugly act that I perpetrated," al-Zeidi wrote in a letter delivered to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, according to the prime minister's spokesman.