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As someone who has seen intended and unintended mayhem as a former police officer, I believe that a pardon or commutation should be based upon the specific crime and the specific actions taken by an individual in the commission of a crime.
Regardless of the political beliefs of whomever is in a position to grant pardons or commutations, each case should be judged upon the merits of their case.
"Joseph Lyle Menendez (born January 10, 1968) and Erik Galen Menendez (born November 27, 1970), commonly referred to as the Menendez brothers, are American brothers convicted of killing their parents, José and Mary Louise "Kitty" Menendez, at their Beverly Hills home in 1989."
The brothers are seeking resentencing that would lead to an earlier release from prison. Netflix, some of their relatives, and others are supporting early release.
One thing that stands out for me in the shotgun blasts that killed their parents is their mother survived the initial shooting. The blood trail from her wounds indicated she was trying to crawl away from the brothers. The two brothers had to reload, so they walked back to the car in the driveway that had more shells, reloaded and then walked back into the house to shoot their mother again.
I've read all the stories about how well they have behaved in prison and their selfless work helping other inmates. They have thrived in the controlled prison environment. I'm in favor of giving them more thriving time and a paid Netflix subscription.
Discussion (8)
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Indeed. If they are doing good where they are, why would we want to interfere with that?
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I agree. However, the pardons of some (a few?) of the J6 defendants do not fit this standard, and we should recognize it. Granted, there was much prosecutorial misconduct and a lot of people had their lives ruined by aggressive FBI investigations. For me, overall malfeasance in many/most of the cases does not justify pardons in the more exceptional cases in which violent acts were committed during the riot. These individuals were not pardoned based on specifics.
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Weren't most of the pardoned J6ers in jail for months if not years? For trespassing while being guided through the Capitol building by guards? The few assault cases are different but again, their likely imprisonment was longer than normal.
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I've thought of that, that the violent offenders have already served their time and perhaps more, but then Trump could have commuted their sentences and let them go free instead of giving them complete Pardons, as if they had done no wrong. The Pardon expunges it from their record and puts the violent offenders in the same exact class as Grandmothers who simply walked around sight-seeing.
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I might consider leniency for the Menendez brothers if I was convinced that they acted in the heat of anger. Their methodical execution of their parents, on the other hand, tells me they should stay where they are.
Maybe after they are old enough to qualify for social security in a few years they can move into a trailer home somewhere in San Bernardino County, each with an ankle bracelet. A senior citizen on parole and being tracked 24/7 is unlikely to cause much trouble and may save the taxpayers a few bucks.
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