Bush Pardons Fourteen Today

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, today, Nov. 24, 2008, President George W. Bush granted pardons to 14 individuals and commutation of sentence to two individuals.

I tried to find some info on some of these cases via Google but many are so long ago that there don’t seem to be any digital records or news reports that I could find through Google News.  There are other ways to dig for this stuff but with a house guest arriving in in a few minutes I just don’t have time now.

Does anyone know if its common for a President to pardon people for convictions that occurred decades ago?  The DOJ has a list of Bill Clinton’s pardons but no details as to the dates of the convictions.

PARDONS

Leslie Owen Collier - Charleston, Mo.
Offense: Unauthorized use of a registered pesticide, 7 U.S.C. Section 136j(a)(2)(F) and 136l(b); violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. Section 668(a).
Sentence: Feb. 2, 1996; Eastern District of Missouri; two years’ probation and $10,000 in restitution.
Details: The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act makes it a federal offense to hunt bald or golden eagles anywhere within the United States unless provided with a permit by the Secretary of the Interior.

Milton Kirk Cordes - Rapid City, S.D.
Offense: Conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act; 18 U.S.C. Section 371, 16 U.S.C. Section 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B).
Sentence: Dec. 14, 1998; District of South Dakota; 18 months’ probation conditioned on loss of hunting privileges for one year, performance of 100 hours of community service and payment of a $2,000 fine.
Details: The Lacey Act of 1900, or more commonly The Lacey Act, 16 U.S.C. § 3371–3378, is a conservation law introduced by Iowa Rep. John F. Lacey. It was signed into law by President William McKinley on May 25th, 1900. The Lacey Act has been amended several times. The most significant times were in 1969, 1981, and in 1989. At the turn of the century, illegal commercial hunting threatened many game species in the United States. The law prohibited the transportation of illegally captured or prohibited animals across state lines. It was the first federal law protecting wildlife, and is still in effect, though it has been revised several times. Today the law is primarily used to prevent the importation or spread of potentially dangerous non-native species.

Richard Micheal Culpepper - Mahomet, Ill.
Offense: False statements to the United States; 18 U.S.C. Section 287.
Sentence: Jan. 15, 1988; Central District of Illinois; five years’ probation conditioned on payment of a $1,000 fine and $4,351.90 in restitution.

Brenda Jean Dolenz-Helmer - Fort Worth, Texas
Offense: Misprision of a felony; 18 U.S.C. Section 4.
Sentence: Dec. 31, 1998; Northern District of Texas; four years’ probation, with the special condition of 600 hours of community service and a $10,000 fine.
Details: Misprision of a Felony has been a crime in the USA since 1909. The original law said “Whoever, having knowledge of the actual commission of a felony cognizable by a court of the United States, conceals and does not as soon as possible make known the same to some judge or other person in civil or military authority under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.” Since that time, the offense has been changed to require ACTIVE concealment of a known felony rather than merely failing to report it.

Andrew Foster Harley - Falls Church, Va.
Offense: Wrongful use and distribution of marijuana and cocaine; Article 112a, Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Sentence: April 17, 1985, as approved June 13, 1985; U.S. Air Force general court martial convened at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.; 90 days’ confinement, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and dismissal from the Air Force.

Obie Gene Helton - Rossville, Ga.
Offense: Unauthorized acquisition of food stamps; 7 U.S.C. Section 2024(b), 18 U.S.C. Section 2.
Sentence: April 1, 1983; Eastern District of Tennessee; two years’ probation, $500 fine and $875 in restitution.

Carey C. Hice Sr. - Travelers Rest, S.C.
Offense: Income tax evasion; 26 U.S.C. Section 7201 and 18 U.S.C. Section 2.
Sentence: March 5, 1996; District of South Carolina; three years’ probation condition on 180 days’ home confinement and a $13,000 fine.

Geneva Yvonne Hogg - Chamblee, Ga.
Offense: Bank embezzlement; 18 U.S.C. Section 657.
Sentence: June 19, 1980; District of South Carolina; five years’ probation and a $500 fine.

William Hoyle McCright Jr. - Midland, Texas
Offense: Making false entries, books, reports or statements of bank; 18 U.S.C. Section 1005.
Sentence: Oct. 20, 1986, as amended September 23, 1987; Western District of Texas; two years’ imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

Paul Julian McCurdy - Sulphur, Okla.
Offense: Misapplication of bank funds by a bank officer; 18 U.S.C. Section 656.
Sentence: Feb. 12, 1988; Eastern District of Oklahoma; five years’ probation and $5,000 in restitution.

Robert Earl Mohon Jr. - Grant, Ala.
Offense: Conspiracy to distribute marijuana; 21 U.S.C. Section 841 and 846.
Sentence: Oct. 22, 1987; Northern District of Alabama; three years in prison.

Ronald Alan Mohrhoff - Los Angeles
Offense: Unlawful use of a telephone in furtherance of a narcotics felony, 21 U.S.C. Section 843(b); possession of cocaine, 21 U.S.C. Section 844(a).
Sentence: Oct. 9, 1984; Central District of California; one year of in prison followed by five years’ probation with the special condition of 2,500 hours of community service.

Daniel Figh Pue III - Conroe, Texas
Offense: Illegal treatment, storage and disposal of a hazardous waste without a permit, 42 U.S.C. Section 6928(d)(2)(A); illegal transportation of a hazardous waste to an unpermitted facility for storage or disposal, 42 U.S.C. Section 6928(d)(1).
Sentence: Oct. 25, 1996; Southern District of Texas; three years’ probation conditioned on six months’ home confinement and a $1,000 fine.

Orion Lynn Vick - White Hall, Ark.
Offense: Aiding and abetting the theft of government property; 18 U.S.C. Section 641 and 2.
Sentence: June 17, 1975; District of Arizona; payment of a $250 fine within 90 days.

COMMUTATIONS

John Edward Forte - North Brunswick, N.J.
Offense: Aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; 21 U.S.C. Section 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A)(ii), 18 U.S.C. Section 2.
Sentence: Nov. 20, 2001; Southern District of Texas; 168 months in prison, five years’ supervised release and a $5,000 fine.
Terms of commutation: Sentence of imprisonment to expire on Dec. 22, 2008, leaving intact and in effect the five year term of supervised release with all its conditions.

James Russell Harris - Detroit, Mich.
Offense: Conspiracy to aid and abet the distribution of cocaine, 21 U.S.C. Section 846; attempted money laundering, 18 U.S.C. Section 1956(a)(3) and 2; aiding and abetting the attempted distribution of cocaine, 21 U.S.C. Section 841(a)(1); conspiracy to affect interstate commerce by obtaining property under color of official right, 18 U.S.C. Section 1951; attempt to affect interstate commerce by obtaining property under color of official right, 18 U.S.C. Section 1951.
Sentence: May 10, 1993; Eastern District of Michigan; 360 months in prison, five years’ supervised release and a $50,000 fine.
Terms of clemency grant: Unpaid balance of fine remitted; sentence of imprisonment commuted to expire on Dec. 22, 2008, leaving intact and in effect the five year term of supervised release with all its conditions save the obligation to satisfy the unpaid balance of the fine.