July 3, 2007 10:36AM # Commute These Sentences, Mr. President By [David Boaz](https://www.cato.org/people/david-boaz) --- SHARE President Bush has pushed the envelope of every aspect of executive power, except for two that might ease the burden of government, the veto and the pardon. Now he’s threatening to protect the taxpayers with his veto pen, and he’s just discovered his power to pardon or commute the sentences of people convicted of crimes. Whether Scooter Libby was an appropriate recipient of a commutation is subject to much debate. But there are plenty of other people who deserve presidential pardons or commutations. Families Against Mandatory Minimums has highlighted a number of good cases [here](http://famm.org/ExploreSentencing/TheIssue/FacesofFAMM.aspx): > Mandy Martinson — 15 years for helping her boyfriend count his drug-dealing money. > > > DeJarion Echols — 20 years for selling a small amount of crack and owning a gun, causing Reagan-appointed federal judge Walter S. Smith, Jr. to say, “This is one of those situations where I’d like to see a congressman sitting before me.” > > > Weldon Angelos — 55 years for minor marijuana and gun charges, causing the George W. Bush-appointed judge Paul Cassell, previously best known for pressing the courts to overturn the Miranda decision, to call the mandatory sentence in this case “unjust, cruel, and even irrational.” > > > Anthea Harris — 15 years when members of her husband’s drug ring received sentence reductions to testify against her, although she had not been directly involved in the business. A compassionate conservative should also use the pardon power to head off the [DEA’s war against doctors](https://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=3778) who help patients alleviate pain. He could start by pardoning [Dr. Ronald McIver](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/17/magazine/17pain-t.html?ex=1183608000&en=2ed7b216fc1349b9&ei=5070), sentenced to 30 years for prescribing Oxycontin and other drugs to patients in severe pain. Or [Dr. William Hurwitz ](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/27/science/27tier.html?ex=1183608000&en=e9d39f8cbbf513fa&ei=5070)of Virginia, sentenced to 25 years but then [granted a retrial](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/03/science/03tier.html), convicted again, and awaiting sentencing, which could still be 10 years. Commute *these* sentences, Mr. President. ##### Related Tags [General](https://www.cato.org/general), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).