A SEASON FOR PARDONS

ON THURSDAY, President Bush commuted the prison sentence of Phillip
Emmert, who was convicted on methamphetamine charges and sentenced to
22 years, followed by five years of supervised release in 1992. May a
new era of compassionate conservatism be upon us.

Bush has used his commutation powers before. With Emmert's
commutation and the 16 pardons issued on Dec. 21, Bush has issued 113
pardons and commutations while in office. This is, however, the first
time that Bush has cut years from an offender's sentence, and a drug
offender at that.

Margaret C. Love, who was the pardon attorney under the first
President Bush, said of the Emmert commutation, "This appears to be
exactly the kind of case where the president needs to intervene, and
he is to be commended for doing it. But why only one after all these
years? Given what we know about federal drug sentences, it is hard to
believe that this case is the only one that merits a sentence reduction."

I, too, have criticized Bush for not commuting more sentences, but
there is no denying how politically risky pardons can be. When he was
Texas governor in 1995, Bush pardoned a man who had been convicted
for growing marijuana in his back yard, only to see the man, who had
become a deputy constable, arrested for stealing cocaine from a
suspect within four months of his pardon.

In Emmert's case, Bush has put off his release until Jan. 20, and
required Emmert to fulfill his five years' supervised release.

As a conservative, I think it is important that Bush is clear-eyed
and has smart standards. I've seen those who would turn convicted
cop- killer Mumia abu Jamal into a martyr. Ditto the executed Stanley
Tookie Williams. Their most ardent advocates made excuses for their
criminal actions and never seemed to care that these men took innocent lives.

According to the Washington Post, the Bush administration gives
weight to a prisoner's "acceptance of responsibility and showing
remorse" -- as well as the seriousness of the crime, how long ago it
was committed, compelling need, post-conviction conduct and whether
criminal-justice officials involved in the case support clemency.

Emmert's story fit those criteria. His history, provided to me by
Families Against Mandatory Minimums, tells how Emmert rehabilitated
himself in prison so that he was moved from a medium-security
facility to a minimum-security camp.

One other aspect of Emmert's story -- the disproportionate and unduly
severe sentence he received -- should be among Bush's criteria.
Emmert had one prior conviction for driving without a license. A
22-year sentence for a low-level function in a first drug offense is insane.

America would be a better country if Bush were to commute sentences
for other nonviolent drug offenders. Clarence Aaron was sentenced to
life without parole for a first-time nonviolent drug offense in 1992,
when he was 22, and will die in prison without intervention. That
sentence is positively medieval.

This is not a drug case, but next month, two Border Patrol agents,
Jose Alonso Compean and Ignacio Ramos, will begin serving 12 and
11-year sentences for shooting a fleeing drug smuggler in the
buttocks, not filing the necessary reports and depriving the smuggler
of his Fourth Amendment right to be free from illegal seizure. Bush
should commute their sentences before they report for prison. These
two men have paid enough for their mistakes.

Readers frequently ask me what they can do to help win commutations
for those serving draconian federal drug sentences. The time to act
is now. Write the White House and let the president know you support
his commutation of Emmert's sentence and you would like to see more.
Show Washington there is political benefit in showing mercy.

To comment, e-mail comments@whitehouse.gov, or mail the White House,
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20500