Letter: Father Drinan of Georgetown University Law Center to President Clinton

Robert F. Drinan, S.J.
Professor of Law

January 31, 1994

President Bill Clinton
White House
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

I have been very involved in the case of Jonathan Pollard for several years.

I am a member of a group of lawyers and religious leaders that submitted an amicus brief in support of Mr. Pollard's appeal to the District of Columbia Federal Court of Appeals.

I also shared a podium with Nobel laureate Elie Weisel and Reverend Pat Robinson in addressing a large gathering in June of 1992 to call for justice for Jonathan Pollard.

I will not take this opportunity to review all of the misconduct of the government in this case, nor all the inconsistencies in the excessively long sentence that has been given to Jonathan Pollard.

The fact is that in the numerous cases of espionage on behalf of countries allied with the United States, none of the individuals involved received a sentence even remotely close to life, as has been given to Jonathan Pollard.

Indeed, Mr. Pollard has already served more time than anybody convicted of a similar offense and twice the median sentence.

I do hope that a happy resolution of this matter can be reached in the very near future.

I send to you my gratitude for your attention to this matter.

Cordially yours,

(signed)
Robert F. Drinan, S.J.