by Alan M. Dershowitz • January 1, 2018 at 4:00 pm
There are several important lessons to be gleaned from President Trump's act of justice and compassion. First, even in this age of hyper-partisanship, there are issues of simple justice that can unite diverse elements. Second, no one should ever give up on the quest for justice, even when all legal appeals have been exhausted.
The Bible commands, "Justice, Justice you must run after". It requires active pursuit of justice -- not passive acceptance of injustice -- for the right result to be achieved.
As Martin Luther King Jr. put it: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
(Image source: ILTV video screenshot)
The president of the United States has the constitutional authority to pardon any defendant and commute any sentence. It is a power rarely used. Recently, US President Donald Trump commuted an outrageously unjust sentence imposed on a Chasidic Jew named Sholom Rubashkin, who had been convicted of a bank fraud that generally warrants a sentence of a few years and a fine. This case was tried in the Iowa federal court. The prosecution manipulated the sale of Rubashkin's company to lower the price, thereby increasing the loss to the bank. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, the greater the loss, the higher the sentence. The prosecutor recommended a sentence of 25 years, more than 10 times what this crime warranted. But even that was not enough for the judge, who -- remarkably -- increased the sentence over the one recommended by the overzealous prosecutor. The final sentence was 27 years -- more than sentences often imposed on murderers, rapists, armed robbers and mobsters. This was especially unjustified, as Rubashkin had a clean record and a large family. There is no explanation for this wildly excessive sentence other than bias.
|
|
Posts
