Former VP Quayle Calls for Pollard's Release

Maayana Miskin - Arutz7/IsraelNationalNews - February 8, 2011

Dan Quayle, a former vice-president of the United States, has written to current U.S. President Barack Obama asking him to free Jonathan Pollard.

"I write this letter urging you to consider commuting the sentence of Jonathan Pollard," the letter read. "I believe that a life sentence for the crime committed is very extreme. Though his crime was very serious, I hope you will once again look very carefully at this pending request."

Quayle joins a growing number of senior U.S. figures who are calling for Pollard's release. Among them are former senior U.S. Middle East negotiator Dennis Ross, former CIA director James Woolsey, former Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee Dennis DeConcini, and Federal Judge Stephen Williams.

Senior Republican figure Mike Huckabee joined the call for Pollard's release last week while visiting Israel.

Pollard was sentenced to life in prison for passing classified information to Israel. He has served more than 25 years of his sentence and is in poor health.

His supporters say his sentence far exceeds the normal sentence for his crime, which involved passing information to an ally, not an enemy. The information in question had been promised to Israel by U.S. officials, they say, and did not harm U.S. interests.

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