Showing posts with label mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I Can't Believe That George Bush Actually Pardoned John Forte



I find the news that John Forte has been pardoned to be quite shocking! I mean, that's the last person that I thought Bush would have mercy on. It's funny,but have you noticed just how much George Bush has mellowed out. He does not seem angry anymore. I think he has resigned himself to the fact that he is the most unpopular president in the history of the United States! George Bush seems like he's just counting the days until it's all over. A whole lot of people are afraid that he may do more damage than he has already done. So, when he pardoned John Forte that irked a lot of conservatives. Lou Dobbs just said that George Bush pardoned a "drug dealer"! It's not as if he hasn't served enough time for his first drug offense already. Here's a little background on his case from freejohnforte.com:

"John Forte's life was forever changed in July of 2000. He agreed to transport a package, and in turn was arrested on a drug trafficking charge. He did not accept the plea bargain offered him, as he maintained that he was innocent of the charges against him.

In 2001, John Forté stood trial in a Texas court and was convicted of this non-violent crime. It was his first offense. Due to the outdated mandatory minimum sentencing laws currently in place, he received the only prison term available for the judge to hand down - 14 years in a federal penitentiary. John is not eligible to be released until he is at least 38 years old.


Many judges (both liberal and conservative) agree that Mandatory Minimum last leave them unable to use their own discretion in evaluating individual cases. Even Justice Anthony Kennedy of the Supreme Court calls them "harsh and unjust."
(END OF EXCERPT) Link to the site here:http://freejohnforte.com/AboutJohn.shtml