Pardon Scooter Libby but please Pardon this War Hero first
By crocetti Posted in Archived — Comments (14) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
from the diaries
The issue of pardons is obviously going to be a big topic these days and intense pressure needs to be put on the current Governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick, to pardon decorated Iraq war veteran Lt. Anthony Circosta who was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for bravery.
The Massachusetts Parole Board/Advisory Board of Pardons twice recommended to former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney that Lt. Anthony Circosta should be pardoned for shooting another boy in the arm with a BB gun when he was only 13 years old -- a shot that didn't break the skin but in the Peoples Republic of Massachusetts that constitutes felony assault.
Read on.
Romney opposed pardons, a policy challenged by Iraq war veteran
Decorated Iraq war veteran Anthony Circosta seemed like an ideal candidate for a pardon from then-Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney for his boyhood conviction for a BB gun shooting.
Romney said no - twice - despite the recommendation of the state's Board of Pardons.
At age 13, Circosta was convicted of assault for shooting another boy in the arm with a BB gun, a shot that didn't break the skin. Circosta worked his way through college, joined the Army National Guard and led a platoon of 20 soldiers in Iraq's deadly Sunni triangle.
In 2005, as he was serving in Iraq, he sought a pardon to fulfill his dream of becoming a police officer.
"I've done everything I can to give back to my state and my community and my country and to get brushed aside is very frustrating," said Circosta, 29, of Agawam, Mass. "I'm not some shlub off the street."
In his presidential bid, Romney often proudly points out that he was the first governor in modern Massachusetts history to deny every request for a pardon or commutation during his four years in office. He says he refused pardons because he didn't want to overturn a jury.
But critics argue that the blanket policy is an abdication of a key power given governors and the president - the ability to recognize how someone convicted of a past crime has turned their life around.
During the four years Romney was in office, 100 requests for commutations and 172 requests for pardons were filed in the state. All were denied.
For Circosta, who works as a project manager for disaster restoration company, Romney's refusal is an ongoing source of frustration.
"I understand the political side, but I don't see in any way how it could hurt the campaign," Circosta said. "I'm decorated. I have a Bronze Star. I guess he just didn't want to sign it. It's obviously politically motivated and I don't know why."
The issue here is not about Mitt Romney's obvious lack of judgement it's about getting this young man a pardon for he can pursue his dream of becoming a police officer. It's too late for Mitt Romney to grant this young man a pardon but it's not to late for Lt. Anthony Circosta to obtain one. Presidents can only Pardon for Federal Offenses Lt. Anthony Circosta was convicted of a state crime so only the Governor of Massachusetts can grant this hero a pardon.
Addresses, Phones and Faxes:
Please include your phone number on any written correspondence to facilitate a prompt response from the Governor's Office
Massachusetts State House
Office of the Governor
Office of the Lt. Governor
Room 360
Boston, MA 02133
Phone: 617.725.4005
888.870.7770 (in state)
Fax: 617.727.9725
TTY: 617.727.3666
Washington, DC
Office of the Governor
444 N. Capitol Street, Suite 208
Washington, D.C. 20001
Phone: 202.624.7713
Fax: 202.624.7714
Email Form to contact Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick
_______________________________________________________________
Massachusetts Parole Board/Advisory Board of Pardons
Central Office
12 Mercer Road
Natick, MA. 01760
Phone: 508-650-4500
Toll Free Victim's Line:
888-298-6272
Fax: 508-650-4599
The Parole Board monitors statutorily-established parole eligible dates, prepares case files for consideration, and supervises released offenders through its regional offices. It also acts as the Advisory Board of Pardons.
It's nice to see a new post that isn't immmigration -for a change.
Incredible story, the citizens of Massachusetts are being poorly served.
I disagree about Libby, though. A pardon would violate DOJ standards: http://www.usdoj.gov/pardon/petitions.htm
The POTUS could deflect inevitable Lefty criticism for a Libby pardon by simultaneously issuing a magnanimous pardon of Sandy Berger.
--
"We want great men who, when fortune frowns, will not be discouraged." - Colonel Henry Knox
Presidents can only Pardon for Federal Offenses
Are you sure about that? I thought the President could pardon any crime.
---
(Formerly known as bee) / Internet member since 1987
Member of the Surreality-Based Community
the president can't pardon a state prisoner.
"A man can never have too much red wine, too many books, or too much ammunition." -- Rudyard Kipling
I want a pardon for an underage alcohol charge and a noise violation that now prevent me from attending law school (or becoming a police officer in many jurisdictions, for that matter). Honestly ask yourself what kind of a chance I have of achieving this? The noise violation (for playing music that could be heard from the street past 8 pm) was a class 2 Misdemeanor. For the underage drinking charge, I received a "constructive possession" charge, just for being at a party where underage drinking occurred, but not actually drinking.
These charges are equally absurd, but non-violent. I was also equally ignorant of the classification and punishments for the crimes when they occurred. I didn’t know I could be charged for underage drinking without actually drinking anything, and I didn’t know that having my window open and playing music was class 2 misdemeanor. I don't know the circumstances surrounding the incident with Lt. Circosta and if it was violent in nature or accidental, but my point is: why should it matter? We both violated laws and were convicted in our court systems. Going to war is not and should not be a free ticket to clearing a criminal record, despite his great acts of heroism. There are a great number of injustices that occur in our legal system. How many times have we seen punishments that don't fit the crimes? I choice not to review pardons isn’t "obviously politically motivated,” it’s just as likely an issue of moral motivation. Moral motivation in the sense that the governor might believe that criminals should take responsibility for their crimes. We have separate executive, judicial and legislative branches for a reason. The courts were allowed to work here, and there is no dispute that Lt. Circosta was guilty of the crime. The failure was in the legislature. If this grave injustice was caused by an absurd law, where are the cries to have the law changed?
I certainly feel for Lt. Circosta, I share in his frustrations in not being able to achieve our career aspirations due to ridiculously petty crimes that are of no consequence to anyone. It’s truly an injustice, but the injustice was not committed by Governor Romney. You hijacked this story into a blatant hit-piece, citing his “failures” over and over again. Who’s this really about? Circosta or Romney? Working for the McCain camp now, are we? Where’s my pardon? For all I know, in a rage, Lt. Circosta held a BB pistol at point blank range to someone’s arm and pulled the trigger with the intention of harming that person. Then again, perhaps it accidentally went off while playing with a friend in his basement. Did the courts see fit from his actions to charge him as a juvenile or as an adult? Are those facts not more relevant than anything that happened afterwards? How many criminals find God in our country’s penal system? Should they, too, be pardoned?
Would there be this claim of Romney failures if this gentleman hadn’t fought so heroically in Iraq? This argument just doesn’t hold water. You’re blaming Romney for not considering the pardon of someone that admitted to committing the crime. You’re also arguing that criminals shouldn’t be held responsible for their actions if they serve heroically in war later in their lives. Neither of those make any sense. The only thing that does here, is common sense. It is absolutely ridiculous that the charge would be considered felony assault... but it is. Of course he’s a completely different person than he was when he was 13. I don’t even remember when I was 13. I’m sure he’d make a wonderful law-enforcement officer and I truly hope that one day, he gets to do it. I’ve already written to the governor advocating this, and I’m hopeful that he does pardon Lt. Circosta. I’m sorry to say though, there really aren’t any grounds for pardon here short of being very proud of Lt. Circosta’s heroism in Iraq. If governors can pardon for any reason, great, if not, I cannot blame him if he denies the petition. While you’re motivated though, why not post the contact information for the legislature to request they amend the laws?
They have totally different repercussions. I don't see a couple of ancient misdemeanors being a bar to employment in any job. Felonies OTOH, are a very big deal and can bar you from all kinds of things... holding many jobs, owning firearms, voting, etc.
---
Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. - Milton Friedman
It's a shame that you're being held back by such minor violations of the law. And I agree with you that the "political motivation" for refusing a pardon for Lt. Circosta was not clear and Romney's involvement may be the reason this case is coming to light. However, none of this mitigates the fact that Lt. Circosta is a perfect candidate for a pardon.
The point of a pardon (at least at the federal level) is to reward someone for leading a "responsible and productive life for a significant period after conviction or release from confinement". Factors to be considered include "reputation in the community, participation in community service, charitable or other meritorious activities and, if applicable, military record". There are other requirements as well, including "acceptance of responsibility, remorse, and atonement". http://www.usdoj.gov/pardon/petitions.htm
The assumption here is that someone was indeed guilty of a crime and because they have accepted responsibility and led a responsible, perhaps "meritorious" life since, deserve to be given a pass on their illegal behavior.
Perhaps your circumstances line up favorably against these standards. Clearly they do for a war hero like Lt. Circosta. I hope his case is reviewed with all care and consideration, and I hope yours is too!
RFYoung
I think you are BS'ing us about the underage drinking keeping you out of law school.
Also when I was a kid everyone shot everyone else with a BB gun. If anyone need to adjudicate a BB gun dispute one of the local neighborhood women either told you to quite being a cry baby or paddled the agressor. Of course that is felony assult today.
Amazing how everything gets better with the government involved.
Could we pass a retroactive law? I still think that rat two doors down should have been paddled and I am still waiting for justice to be done. And don't let him get a pardon for his BB gun assult on my tender body.
My son is in the Air Force and if the laws on BB guns were the same in TX as they are in Mass. he'd be imprisoned for life. Shooting each other with BB guns was considered a fun and relaxing way to while away the long summer hrs. down here.
however as a 12 year old boy nothing was done to my cousin even though my best friend who was only 10 at the time had a father who was a very prominent local judge at the time it was unfortunate accident which permanately blurred the vision of by best friend but he went on to become a star basketball player in high school and even got a Scholarship to play basketball at a small college. Unfortunately he has had several eye surgeries. WE learned a lesson about the danger of BB guns hiowever making my 12 year old cousin a felon for life would have been seen as insane back in the 1970's when this happened he wasn't even charge with anything.
RFYoung,
I can understand your skepticism, but you’ve likely never gone through the application process for a tier-one law school. I assure you that this is not at all uncommon. My "criminal record" was directly cited in four separate interviews and phone calls (not the least of which included Georgetown and Washington and Lee). If it's difficult for you to see why this might be an issue, consider that to even be allowed to sit for the bar exam, you must submit to the board a lengthy detailed background questionnaire on all aspects of your personal history. So if there's any question as to whether or not a candidate would have difficulty being granted approval, it may not be the sole reason for rejection, but it's more than enough to pass over that candidate and consider another that is just as accomplished but with a clean record. Admissions are extremely competitive for Ivy and other tier-one schools; any discrepancies, no matter how minor, create an enormous disadvantage when you’re swimming in a pool of highly qualified applicants.
I'm currently working to have the charges expunged from my adult record and I'm confident that I will at least succeed with the underage charge. That charge, which occurred six months before my 18th birthday (still a juvenile), should have been sealed. I pled “not guilty,” the judge stated it would be dismissed if I went a year without further citations. After turning 18, I subsequently violated the noise ordinance within this time frame. Despite the fact that the underage charge and the hearing occurred when I was under 18, the conviction date is listed as one year from the date of the original hearing (when it was assessed if I had complied with the judge's orders). In addition to this, I have learned that the Town Council increased the sentence for a noise violation from a fine to a class two misdemeanor only two weeks before I was charged, yet the town code was not amended until six months after the changes were enacted. Had I not received the noise ordinance charge, the underage would have been dismissed. Instead, it now appears on my adult criminal record, and here I am, nearly a decade later, having to explain it in order to proceed with a career I've spent the last seven years trying to attain. Nearly $100,000 for my undergraduate tuition, 4.0 GPA with a major in pre-law, unpaid internships, LSAT prep courses, the actual LSAT, applications, fees, and the like… needless to say, it's pretty damn frustrating to go through all of that and have your supposed "criminal record" cited as the only matter of concern. I was in a room where someone was drinking, and I played my music with an open window. Provided I have some level of success with the judge over expunging, I’ll be lucky enough to get to go through the whole application process all over again. Anyone that's applied to law school knows how thrilling that can be. If I don’t succeed with the judge, my choice is to settle for an inferior law program or find a new career path. But hey, it’s not like the whole "Pre-law major" narrows me down to working in a particular field or anything, right?
Frankly, I just don't believe petty crimes like this should ever prevent someone from proceeding with their careers if they're qualified. That should have been the focus of this plea for help, but instead, it came off to me as a Romney hit-piece.
with a libertarian state constitution, why are they prosecuting 13-year old boys as felons for things like BB-gun shootings? Are they trying to prevent BB-gun owners from ever graduating to real guns?
lesterblog.blogspot.com