Beverly Hills : Clinton Urged to Free Spy
The City Council took the unusual action of formally asking President Clinton to commute the lifetime sentence of convicted spy Jonathan Jay Pollard to time already served.
Pollard, a former civilian intelligence analyst for the Navy, pleaded guilty to espionage in 1987 for selling top-secret U.S. documents to Israel, including information about Iraq’s biological and chemical capabilities.
The resolution, approved Tuesday in a 4-0 vote with Councilman Allan L. Alexander abstaining, follows a similar resolution passed by the Los Angeles City Council.
Councilman Robert K. Tanenbaum, who presented the resolution to the council, said that although he did not condone Pollard’s actions, Pollard has served more than seven years while others who have been convicted of passing information to unfriendly nations received lighter sentences and are eligible for parole. Pollard is not.
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