# Did Clinton Pardon a cop killer?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [January 2, 2001, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072 "2001-01-02T09:50:19Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2001, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/1 "2001-01-02T09:50:19Z")
OK, this guy from work was going on and on Sunday about Clinton pardoning a Native American who was conicted of killing two Feds.
This guy is always complaining about Clinton and most of his info is way off. I would like to confirm or deny this ever happend before I get to upset about it.
Does anyone know anything about this? A link maybe… Was there a good reason for the pardon? Is my coworker screwed up in the head? He also says that all the feds are protesting in Washington right now about it. I have not read the paper lately and dont get to catch the news often, so I would not know. Someone please enlighten me.
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### Author:  [@Blunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blunt)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2001, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/2 "2001-01-02T10:15:13Z")
I think your co-worker is talking about the Leonard Peltier case. Peltier was convicted of killing two FBI agents on an Indian reservation in the 70’s. He has maintained his innocence, and some people think he didn’t do it, although he was convicted in a court of law and has had numerous appeals denied.
I know that some of Peltier’s supporters have been pushing for Clinton to pardon Peltier, but the last I heard was that Clinton wasn’t going to do it. In fact, I’m pretty sure that Clinton has absoultely no intention of granting the pardon, and all he has agreed to do was to look over the details of the case himself. Additonal informaton about this case could be found at [http://www.freepeltier.com](http://www.freepeltier.com) (obviously slanted), or [http://www.noparolepeltier.com](http://www.noparolepeltier.com) (slanted the other direction).
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### Author:  [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2001, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/3 "2001-01-02T10:19:59Z")
His name is Leonard Peltier, and as near as I can tell, he committed a couple of very evil deeds. As of Dec 29, he has not been pardoned.
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### Author:  [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2001, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/4 "2001-01-02T10:24:29Z")
Thank you everyone! He also mentioned Clinton pardoning a Senator or something like that who was convicted of fraud or taking illegal donations or something. I suppose that didn’t happen either.
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### Author:  [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2001, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/5 "2001-01-02T12:12:30Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Bear\_Nenno \*
> \*\*Thank you everyone! He also mentioned Clinton pardoning a Senator or something like that who was convicted of fraud or taking illegal donations or something. I suppose that didn’t happen either. \*\*
Clinton did pardon former congressman Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.), former chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, who had pleaded guilty to mail fraud and been sentenced to 17 months in prison back in 1996. [http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/12/22/bc.clinton.pardons.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2000/ALLPOLITICS/stories/12/22/bc.clinton.pardons.ap/index.html)
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### Author:  [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2001, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/6 "2001-01-02T12:41:12Z")
He was the guy convicted of killing 2 FBI agents.
There is a song about it,
Bury my heart at wounded knee - Buffy St Marie.
The most disturbing aspect of the case is that the bullets recovered did not match the gun found in a burned out pick-up but the gun was aleeged to have been Peltier’s.
The rifle was damaged by the fire and tests were not supposed to have been able to be carried out, however since his trial it has been done successfully.
Peltier claims he knows who committed the offences but refuses to name those(apperently two of them) persons.
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### Author:  [@broccoli](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/broccoli)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2001, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/7 "2001-01-02T13:40:34Z")
Indeed.
FYI - It’s the same Peltier who Rage Against the Machine wrote the song “Freedom” about.
punk snot dead,
broccoli!
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### Author:  [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2001, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/8 "2001-01-02T14:41:52Z")
For the record, a pardon is a forgiveness of the crime **after** the time is served. Rostenkowski finished his time a while ago. You need a commutation to actually get out of jail early. More detail on why pardons aren’t as good as you’d think:
> [@](#):
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> A full pardon is a formal forgiveness by the government that restores certain liberties, such as the right to vote or own firearms. It does not imply innocence, nor does it expunge a criminal record. Nor can any fines that were imposed in sentencing be recouped. But it does make those pardoned feel better about themselves.
(from [Slate](http://slate.msn.com/code/explainer/explainer.asp?Show=12/27/2000&idMessage=6754))
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### Author:  [@peepthis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peepthis)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2001, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/9 "2001-01-02T16:25:32Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Bear\_Nenno \*
> **He also says that all the feds are protesting in Washington right now about it.**
Yup, a couple weeks ago there was a silent march by FBI agents in Washington, D.C. They marched 2-by-2 to symbolize the two agents who died. Apparently this was a big deal for the FBI, who usually do not make public displays. Also, President Clinton reportedly is considering pardons for **Whitewater criminals** Susan McDougal and Webster Hubbell.
From this Washington Post [article](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43200-2000Dec22.html) on Clinton’s recent pardoning of 59 people:
> [@](#):
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> All told, Clinton has now granted 255 pardons and commuted 25 sentences in nearly eight years in office. By contrast, Bush pardoned 74 people and commuted three sentences in four years in office. Ronald Reagan issued 393 pardons and commuted 13 sentences during his two terms, while Jimmy Carter pardoned 534 people and commuted 29 sentences during his term.
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### Author:  [@Milton\_De\_La\_Warre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Milton_De_La_Warre)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2001, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/10 "2001-01-02T17:50:18Z")
So a pardon or commutation has not —as of this time— been issued/granted for L. Peltier, has it?
Has Peltier completed his sentence for the double-murder of the two FBI agents?
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### Author:  [@jcgmoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jcgmoi)
#### Post date: [January 2, 2001, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/11 "2001-01-02T18:18:12Z")
Here’s [a link](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20001223/aponline004126_000.htm) to the 62 people recently granted clemency by Clinton–3 commutations of sentence and 59 pardons.
I think the commutations involve low-level violators who ran afoul of US’s sentencing guidelines.
The pardons are more interesting. People have been pardoned for crimes I didn’t know existed: ‘unlawful use of a communication facility’, ‘Fraternization, Article of War 96’, ‘possession of an illegally made destructive device’.
Then you have your dopers (mostly marijuana and cocaine, but hash and meth too), mail fraud (that’s what got Rostenkowski), interstate commerce violations, filing illegal tax returns, and my favorite, illegal sale of wildlife by allowing hunting over a baited field.
Leonard Peltier will receive a pardon the same day Charles Manson and Sirhan Sirhan do.
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### Author:  [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/12 "2001-01-03T02:41:19Z")
JCM: The United States no longer has a body of law called “Articles of War.” The current issue relating to the Uniformed Services is the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Please note that “Uniform” there means “uniform across the services.” It applies to the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Commissioned Officers Corps of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Commissioned Officers Corps of the Public Health Service. {The Surgeon General of the United States is the senior uniformed member of the PHS.}
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### Author:  [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/13 "2001-01-03T02:47:34Z")
there may no longer be “Articles of War,” but there were at the time the guy got convicted, as indicated in the link that jcgmoi provided:
> [@](#):
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> Roscoe Crosby Blunt Jr., Shrewsbury, Mass., **April 1945,** Fraternization, Article of War 96.
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### Author:  [@bcullman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bcullman)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/14 "2001-01-03T02:52:52Z")
I check out that URL someone posted above. Many of the offenses seem mundane. How exactly does the President become aware of these cases?
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### Author:  [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)
#### Post date: [January 3, 2001, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/did-clinton-pardon-a-cop-killer/48072/15 "2001-01-03T03:15:31Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by smackfu \*
> \*\*For the record, a pardon is a forgiveness of the crime **after** the time is served. Rostenkowski finished his time a while ago. You need a commutation to actually get out of jail early. \*\*
Richard Nixon was granted a pardon by Gerald Ford. He was never Impeached, and never convicted. How does that sit with what you’ve just said?
Cartooniverse