Comparative Sentences

The following tables indicate how grossly disproportionate Pollard's life sentence is when compared to the sentences of others who spied for allied nations.

Pollard's life sentence is also disproportionate even when compared to the sentences of those who committed far more serious offences by spying for enemy nations.

Table I: American Allies

Name Spied For Sentence/Punishment Time Served
Before Release*
Jonathan Pollard Israel Life imprisonment 30 years
Michael Schwartz Saudi Arabia Discharged from Navy No time served.
Peter Lee China† 1 year in halfway house No jail time.
Ronald Montaperto China† 3 months  
Xiaodong Sheldon Meng China† 2 years  
Samuel Morison Great Britain 2 years 3 months
Phillip Selden El Salvador 2 years  
Sharon Scranage Ghana 5 years; reduced to 2 years 8 months
Steven Baba South Africa 8 years; reduced to 2 years 5 months
Jean Baynes Phillipines 3 years and 5 months 1 year and 3 months
Geneva Jones Liberia 3 years and 1 month  
Frederick Hamilton Ecuador 3 years and 1 month  
J. Reece Roth China and Iran 4 years  
Abdul Kader Helmy Egypt 4 years 2 years
Joseph Brown Phillipines 6 years  
Michael Ray Aquino Phillipines 6 years and 4 months  
Michael Allen Phillipines 8 years  
Robert Kim South Korea 9 years 7 years
Ron Rockwell Hansen China† 10 years  
Kevin Patrick Mallory China† 10 years  
Leandro Aragoncillo Phillipines 10 years  
Thomas Dolce South Africa 10 years 5.2 years
Steven Lalas Greece 14 years  
William Colton Millay Russia 16 years  
Jerry Chun Shing Lee China† 19 years  

* Time served before release is shown where known. Other cases of early release exist.
† U.S. government foreign policy deems China to be an American ally.

Table II: American Enemies

Jonathan Pollard spied for an American ally. This chart shows that Pollard's life sentence is far harsher than most of the sentences received by those who spied for enemies, and thereby committed much more serious offences and treason.

Name Spied For Sentence Time Served
Before Release*
Alberto Coll Cuba 1 year  
Mohammad Reza Alavi Iran 15 months  
James Wood Soviet Union 2 years  
Sahag Dedyan Soviet Union 3 years  
Elsa Alvarez Cuba 3 years  
Randy Jeffries Soviet Union 3-9 years  
Amarylis Santos Cuba 3.5 years  
Joseph Santos Cuba 4 years  
Carlos Alvarez Cuba 5 years  
Mariano Faget Cuba 5 years  
Brian Horton Soviet Union 6 years  
Alejandro Alonso Cuba 7 years  
William Bell Poland 8 years  
Alfred Zoho East Germany 8 years  
Nikolay Ogarodnikova Soviet Union 8 years  
Hassan Abu-Jihaad Al-Qaida 10 years  
Francis X. Pizzo Soviet Union 10 years  
Daniel Richardson Soviet Union 10 years  
Ernst Forbich East Germany 15 years  
William Whalen Soviet Union 15 years  
Edwin Moore Soviet Union 15 years  
Troung Dinh Ung North Vietnam 15 years  
Ronald Humphrey North Vietnam 15 years  
Kurt Alan Stand East Germany 17.5 years  
Robert Lipka Soviet Union 18 years  
David Barnett Soviet Union 18 years  
Svetlana Ogarodnikova Soviet Union 18 years  
Albert Sombolay Iraq & Jordan 19 years  
Richard Miller Soviet Union 20 years 6 years
Theresa Maria Squillacote East Germany 21.8 years  
Sarkis Paskallan Soviet Union 22 years  
Harold Nicholson Soviet Union 23 years  
David Boone Soviet Union 24 years  
Ana Belen Montes Cuba 25 years  
Clayton Lonetree Soviet Union 25 years 9 years
Michael Walker Soviet Union 25 years 15 years
Bruce Ott Soviet Union 25 years  
Kelly Warren Hungary &
Czechoslovakia		 25 years  
Earl Pitts Soviet Union 27 years  
H.W. Boachanhaupi Soviet Union 30 years  
Roderick Ramsay Hungary &
Czechoslovakia		 36 years  
James Hall Soviet Union
& East Germany		 40 years  
Christopher Boyce Soviet Union 40 years  
William Kampiles Soviet Union 40 years 19 years
Veldik Enger Soviet Union 50 years  
R.P. Charnyayev Soviet Union 50 years  
Marian Zacharski Poland Life 4 years
Aldrich Ames Soviet Union Life  
Robert Hanssen Soviet Union Life  

* Time served before release is shown where known. Other cases of early release exist.

Aldrich Ames: A Case In Point

Aldrich Ames who spied for an enemy nation (the Soviet Union), committed treason, and was responsible for the deaths of at least 11 American agents, received the same sentence as Jonathan Pollard. Pollard's only indictment was one count of passing classified information to an ally. Pollard spent 7 years in solitary confinement, in the harshest unit of the harshest prison in the Federal system - FCI Marion.

Aldrich Ames' treatment was far more benign, and (except for a relatively short period of time during debriefing) did not include the rigours of long years of solitary; nor was he ever subjected to the harsh conditions of "K" Unit at Marion - even though his offence was far more serious.

See Also: