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In fact, he engaged in holiday season political grandstanding for people he neither knew of or cared about, compared to responsible action not taken. Previously he denied hundreds of commutation petitions and dozens requesting pardons, many for deserving victims. Why these now are unrelated to justice, what this or most past executives never considered.
Dozens of previous articles addressed wrongfully imprisoned victims, mostly men, several women, and two human rights lawyers - Lynne Stewart and Paul Bergrin. Both defended unpopular clients too vigorously. As a result, they were targeted and railroaded for doing their job honorably, heroically, and effectively.
Mumia Abu-Jamal was falsely sentenced to death for a 1981 murder he didn't commit. He remains on death row.
In 1977, Leonard Peltier, an innocent man, got two life sentences for the deaths of two FBI agents during a 1975 Pine Ridge Indian Reservation incident.
Sami Al-Arian, a prominent Muslim scholar/activist, was targeted for supporting equity and justice for oppressed Palestinians and other democratic value/social justice issues.
Ramsey Muniz, a prominent Latino activist, was framed on bogus drug charges, given life without parole in 1994.
Oscar Lopez Rivera was imprisoned for supporting Puerto Rican independence, sentenced to 70 years in 1981.
A memorable line from Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" explains much, saying:
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