General Assembly for the State New Jersey
Calls for Commutation of Jonathan Pollard's Sentence

December 6, 1993 - Justice4JP Release

The following is a copy of the resolution of the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey calling for the commutation of Jonathan Pollard's life sentence to time served.

[Copy provided to Justice4JP by Congressman H. James Saxton, as attached to his December 6, 1993 letter to President Clinton.]

October 14, 1993

BE IT RESOLVED by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. That this House respectfully petitions the President of the United States to commute Jonathan Jay Pollard's life sentence to time served ca humanitarian grounds; and

2. That a duly authenticated copy of this resolution, signed by the Speaker add attested by the Clerk, be transmitted to the President of the United States and each member of Congress elected from the State of New Jersey.

STATEMENT

This resolution calls for the General Assembly to petition the President of the United States to commute Jonathan Jay Pollard's life sentence to time served on humanitarian grounds.

Pollard was a civilian Intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy who passed classified information concerning the weapons systems and war-making capacities of certain Arab nations to Israel, As part of a plea bargaining agreement with the federal government, Pollard plea guilty to one count of Conspiracy to Deliver National Defense Information to a Foreign Government and, in return for his cooperation, the government promised not to seek a life sentence.

Despite those agreements, Pollard was sentence to life imprisonment.

A life sentence appears grossly disproportionate to the punishments meted out in comparable cases. In recent history, life sentences have been imposed only in those instances where an individual has been convicted of spying for a county which is recognized as an enemy of the United States.

In cases such as Pollard's, those which involved the passing of intelligence information to allied or friendly countries, the courts have imposed limited terms of imprisonment.

The crime of espionage against the United States is totally contemptible and warrants nothing but public condemnation and swift and just punishment. While Pollard's admitted espionage activities cannot be condoned, it is important to consider whether his sentence is just, fair and proportionate to his crime.

After review and consideration, it would appear that Pollard's punishment, when compared to those imposed in similar cases, is disproportionately harsh, that his eight years in the federal prison in Marion, Illinois is sufficient punishment, and that, on humanitarian grounds his sentence should be commuted.

• Congressman Jim Saxton's Letter to the President Calling for Commutation
• U.S. City and State Resolutions
• The Calls for Pollard's Release Page
• The European Parliament Resolution on Jonathan Pollard
• Comparative Sentences Chart
• Unequal Justice