National Council of Young Israel Appeals to Clinton, Again

Justice4JP Release - October 26, 2000

October 26, 2000 / 27 Tishrei 5761

Mr. William Jefferson Clinton
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are writing in connection with your ongoing review of the matter of Jonathan Jay Pollard. Jonathan recently celebrated his 46th birthday, thereby spending more than one third of his life in prison.

The National Council of Young Israel maintains daily contact with Mr. Pollard, and we have visited with him, at federal prison, numerous times. We have previously made known to you our strong views in favor of commutation or clemency.

At this time, we wish to share with you additional information that we believe deserves attention and response. On September 20, 2000, new attorneys for Mr. Pollard filed a motion for resentencing in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. We enclose a copy for your review. Enclosed, please also find the court's acceptance of this motion.

The papers, fully supported by documentation, present a compelling and very disturbing picture of serious government misconduct that went unchecked by Mr. Pollard's previous counsel. As a result of that misconduct, and as a result of his attorney's ineffectiveness, Mr. Pollard was sentenced to life in prison on the basis of false allegations, and under circumstances that violated his plea agreement.

Perhaps most troubling, after Mr. Pollard had been sentenced to life in prison, his attorney failed to file a Notice of Appeala simple and straightforward task that any attorney would have routinely done. By that failure, Mr. Pollard's then-counsel deprived his client of direct appellate review of the sentence, and doomed Mr. Pollard to an unreviewed sentence of life in prison.

The papers that have now been filed by new counsel seek to have Mr. Pollard resentenced on the basis of a truthful record, untainted by government misconduct, and in a manner consistent with the government's commitments under the plea agreement. The papers seek a court hearing so that the truth can finally be uncovered.

We respectfully urge you to consider this recent court submission as part of your executive review. In light of the egregious government misconduct, coupled with ineffective representation that allowed that misconduct to go unchecked, we believe that fundamental fairness warrants an immediate commutation of Mr. Pollard's sentence.

Sincerely, (signed)

Shlomo Z. Mostofsky
National President

Rabbi Pesach Lerner
Executive Vice President