A Justice Issue

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Church_Militant

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REGARDING:

George Martorano
BOP # 12973 - 004
Coleman Federal
United States Penitentiary
P.O. Box 1033
Coleman, FL 33521
TO President Bush and his staff:
president@whitehouse.gov

I am writing to encourage you to enact the commutation of George Martorano’s sentence. He was the first person, in the history of the United States, to receive a lifelong sentence for a non-violent 1st time offence (marijuana). As you can see from his website at webelievegroup.com, under current guidelines, George has exceeded his due prison time.

George stated in a letter to his friends, “While I try and make a difference within these walls, year after year, I pray that God gives me the chance for greater things free, for the troubled youth of our land could surely use me”. Please give him that chance.

I think you will receive many letters on behalf of George Martorano. Much of the public is turning against excessive sentences as ineffective. Please commute Mr. Martorano’s excessive sentence and allow him to rejoin his family.

Kay Lee
kaylee1@charter.net
2683 Rockcliff Road S.E.
Atlanta, GA 30316-4013
404-212-0690
 
Church Militant can you provide a synopsis of how this happened? I tried to access the website but it bogged my poor computer down so much I couldn’t get in

Lisa N
 
Okay…here’s the basics:

"George was 32 years old and living the high life when he was arrested in 1982 in a Holiday Inn in North Miami and charged with running an international narcotics smuggling ring with 13 other people. They said he violated the federal drug kingpin statute by running an organization that, in addition to trafficking in thousands of pounds of marijuana, sold 75 kilos of cocaine and quaaludes while manufacturing and distributing meth and heroin.

“It wasn’t cocaine, it was sugar. And 2,000 pounds of pot. That’s it,” says George, who the feds alleged made $3 million dollars a year off his narcotics trafficking. “One million over three years. That’s it.”

After reviewing the evidence, George’s attorney Robert “Bobby” Simone advised him to plead guilty. They expected the most time George could get was 30 years with the possibility that he could walk after five. He pleaded guilty, but federal Judge John Hannun III came back with an unexpected sentence: Life.

“I was stunned,” George says. “Until I was arrested, I never even had a traffic ticket. A life sentence for a nonviolent first offense was unheard of.” …

http://citypaper.net/articles/2005-03-03/cover-3.jpg"Three years ago, a businessman from central Florida read George’s book and went to visit him. Shortly thereafter, John Flahive founded a prison-reform organization called We Believe Group to help get him out of jail. Today, it has more than 300 members.

“I’m not a bleeding heart. I believe some people need to be punished,” Flahive says. “This is a guy who did a mistake 20 years ago but he took the sentence for the whole Martorano family. George has corrected himself and rehabilitated himself. He’s a creative writer who teaches other inmates to read and write.”

“George wants a new life and wants to be able to spend time with his mother and sisters and his daughter, now,” Flahive continues. “He’s didn’t kill anybody. He doesn’t deserve life without parole.”

We Believe Group’s letter-writing campaign to the Justice Department has had some success. The department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney decided to review George’s case in December 2003. When asked whether the sentence should be reduced, Justice Department spokesman John Novosky told City Paper that the pardon attorney reviewed the application for George and sent it to the White House with a recommendation. A Justice Department source says, “It doesn’t get to President Bush without a recommendation from the pardon attorney that the sentence should be reduced. The pardon attorney thinks Martorano’s sentence should be reduced. Now, it’s up to President Bush to sign off on it.”
**
A life sentence for a first-time non-violent offense.** This sentence exceeds the federal sentencing guidelines in use today. (apparently 40 months, not even four years!).
You can copy my IP into an e-mail and shoot it to the President. I did…
Pax vobiscum,
 
Prisons are bad places.
I sent an email. Thanks for the heads up.
 
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Lisa4Catholics:
LisaN see if you can open this:)

citypaper.net/articles/2005-03-03/cover.shtml
This is his story.Yes Michael I will write the request:)
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Yes thanks that worked. I agree the sentence is way out of proportion to the crime.

Lisa N
 
Church Militant:
Okay…here’s the basics:

"George was 32 years old and living the high life when he was arrested in 1982 in a Holiday Inn in North Miami and charged with running an international narcotics smuggling ring with 13 other people. They said he violated the federal drug kingpin statute by running an organization that, in addition to trafficking in thousands of pounds of marijuana, sold 75 kilos of cocaine and quaaludes while manufacturing and distributing meth and heroin.

“It wasn’t cocaine, it was sugar. And 2,000 pounds of pot. That’s it,” says George, who the feds alleged made $3 million dollars a year off his narcotics trafficking. “One million over three years. That’s it.”

After reviewing the evidence, George’s attorney Robert “Bobby” Simone advised him to plead guilty. They expected the most time George could get was 30 years with the possibility that he could walk after five. He pleaded guilty, but federal Judge John Hannun III came back with an unexpected sentence: Life.

“I was stunned,” George says. “Until I was arrested, I never even had a traffic ticket. A life sentence for a nonviolent first offense was unheard of.” …

http://citypaper.net/articles/2005-03-03/cover-3.jpg"Three years ago, a businessman from central Florida read George’s book and went to visit him. Shortly thereafter, John Flahive founded a prison-reform organization called We Believe Group to help get him out of jail. Today, it has more than 300 members.

“I’m not a bleeding heart. I believe some people need to be punished,” Flahive says. “This is a guy who did a mistake 20 years ago but he took the sentence for the whole Martorano family. George has corrected himself and rehabilitated himself. He’s a creative writer who teaches other inmates to read and write.”

“George wants a new life and wants to be able to spend time with his mother and sisters and his daughter, now,” Flahive continues. “He’s didn’t kill anybody. He doesn’t deserve life without parole.”

We Believe Group’s letter-writing campaign to the Justice Department has had some success. The department’s Office of the Pardon Attorney decided to review George’s case in December 2003. When asked whether the sentence should be reduced, Justice Department spokesman John Novosky told City Paper that the pardon attorney reviewed the application for George and sent it to the White House with a recommendation. A Justice Department source says, “It doesn’t get to President Bush without a recommendation from the pardon attorney that the sentence should be reduced. The pardon attorney thinks Martorano’s sentence should be reduced. Now, it’s up to President Bush to sign off on it.”
**
A life sentence for a first-time non-violent offense.** This sentence exceeds the federal sentencing guidelines in use today. (apparently 40 months, not even four years!).
You can copy my IP into an e-mail and shoot it to the President. I did…
Pax vobiscum,
Click to expand...
Done.
 
You folks do whatever you want. I just googled George Martorano and found out he is a longtime Mafia hood from Philadelphia. From his dad to his grandson, his family has been involved in racketeering and drugs for years. I don’t think I will be emailing the President anytime soon over this case.
 
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SnorterLuster:
You folks do whatever you want. I just googled George Martorano and found out he is a longtime Mafia hood from Philadelphia. From his dad to his grandson, his family has been involved in racketeering and drugs for years. I don’t think I will be emailing the President anytime soon over this case.
Click to expand...
I certainly am glad you weren’t around when St.Paul was :nope: From my understanding with God all things are possible:nope:
 
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Lisa4Catholics:
I certainly am glad you weren’t around when St.Paul was :nope: From my understanding with God all things are possible:nope:
Click to expand...
Let the punishment fit the crime. If he was not involved in the other family activities then he does not deserve to remain in prison with a life sentence.

If he was caught with drugs and the punishment is usually far less than life then he should have his case reviewed as a matter of urgency.

If he has learned a lesson from his crime and has reformed by helping others,even if it is in prison, then he deserves a second chance.

Jesus gave Judas Iscariot plenty of chances too.

Maggie
 
It is increasingly apparent that Nazi Papa Ratz intends to roll the Church back to the ‘Tradition’ of unreported and unsuspected clergy sex abuse of the traditional past.

Y.T.

The Vatican has sought the intervention of the U.S. State Department to declare Pope Benedict XVI immune from a sexual abuse lawsuit filed [in Houstan, TX], according to court documents.

A church official contacted the State Department May 20, asking it to notify a Houston federal court of the pope’s immunity as the head of a foreign state, according to the defense motion. Vatican attorneys requested a delay on the matter Thursday.

(…)

From ‘rawstoryQ’ & Houston Chronicle
😦
 
Yvon Thivierge:
It is increasingly apparent that Nazi Papa Ratz intends to roll the Church back to the ‘Tradition’ of unreported and unsuspected clergy sex abuse of the traditional past.

Y.T.

The Vatican has sought the intervention of the U.S. State Department to declare Pope Benedict XVI immune from a sexual abuse lawsuit filed [in Houstan, TX], according to court documents.

A church official contacted the State Department May 20, asking it to notify a Houston federal court of the pope’s immunity as the head of a foreign state, according to the defense motion. Vatican attorneys requested a delay on the matter Thursday.

(…)

From ‘rawstoryQ’ & Houston Chronicle
😦
Click to expand...
Are you just reporting or endorsing this statement?:mad: Please tell me you are copying the Nazi Papa Ratz:mad: Please answer with the upmost speed:eek:
 
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SnorterLuster:
You folks do whatever you want. I just googled George Martorano and found out he is a longtime Mafia hood from Philadelphia. From his dad to his grandson, his family has been involved in racketeering and drugs for years. I don’t think I will be emailing the President anytime soon over this case.
Click to expand...
So SnorterLuster… you feel that a first offender with a non-violent charge deserves a life sentence. May God grant you the same mercy that you offer to others. What George is is a long term convict serving an unjust and illegal sentence that does not fit the crime and that exceeds the federal sentencing guidelines for his crime even today. I really hope that you or no one that you love is ever busted and subjected to the kind of “justice” that you have just espoused in this post.
Pax tecum,
 
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MaggieOH:
Let the punishment fit the crime.
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Al Capone could not be caught until they nabbed him for tax evasion.

I think I want to know more before making a judgement, if a judgement is being asked of me.
 
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gilliam:
Al Capone could not be caught until they nabbed him for tax evasion.

I think I want to know more before making a judgement, if a judgement is being asked of me.
Click to expand...
Capones’s case is irrelevent. If there was evidence of other crimes that might merit Life in prison, don’t ya think they’d’ve found it and come forward with new charges in the last 22 years?

There is only one thing that any of us needs to know. That this man has served over 7 times the time that the federal sentencing guidelines mandate for his crime. It’s simple…would you want to pay 7 times for one crime? Would you want to do life for what others are getting less than 4 years for?

If the government attorney has sent it to President Bush for consideration, that means that that attorney knows that there is good reason to commute the sentence. This is a justice issue that we can make a difference about, and as Catholics, I submit that we should. Regardless of who it is, or what they did.

It all comes down to one simple word: Justice.
 
At least get your facts right. Mr. Martorano was not sentenced to prison for a minor marijuana offense, he pled guilty to being a major drug dealer. From his own court filings in the case:

*On June 4, 1984, the Petitioner, George Martorano, pled guilty
to charges that he had been a wholesale distributor of large
amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, methaqualone, and marijuana.

*You keep telling us that the sentence is illegal, yet it has been upheld not once, not twice, but at least four times as legal and appropriate.

From just a little looking, I have been able to find out that Mr. Martorano pled guilty so he couldn’t be compelled to testify about his crime life. It appears that the prosecution offered to give him immunity in return for testimony about the Philadelphia mob. He instead pled guilty and to this day refuses to help the police investigate the crime family in Philly.

As in confession, the pardon & parole boards don’t give “absolution” until the convict shows acknowledgement of his crime, remorse, and cooperates by sinning no more. Only Mr. Martorano’s silence is keeping him in prison.
 
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SnorterLuster:
At least get your facts right. Mr. Martorano was not sentenced to prison for a minor marijuana offense, he pled guilty to being a major drug dealer. From his own court filings in the case:

*On June 4, 1984, the Petitioner, George Martorano, pled guilty
to charges that he had been a wholesale distributor of large
amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, methaqualone, and marijuana.

*You keep telling us that the sentence is illegal, yet it has been upheld not once, not twice, but at least four times as legal and appropriate.

From just a little looking, I have been able to find out that Mr. Martorano pled guilty so he couldn’t be compelled to testify about his crime life. It appears that the prosecution offered to give him immunity in return for testimony about the Philadelphia mob. He instead pled guilty and to this day refuses to help the police investigate the crime family in Philly.

As in confession, the pardon & parole boards don’t give “absolution” until the convict shows acknowledgement of his crime, remorse, and cooperates by sinning no more. Only Mr. Martorano’s silence is keeping him in prison.
Click to expand...
Its not as simple as that and I would think you would see it.

Sometimes…the PP boards give parole for those reasons and then sometimes they have reasons no one can figure out…

I know one right now who has been a model prisoner and is well thought of by Warden and staff…also other inmates…served over half his sentence…done every thing according to what you think the parole board looks for…so why isn’t he paroled? We see people who do much worse get paroled …done less time…
 
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aimee:
Its not as simple as that and I would think you would see it.

Sometimes…the PP boards give parole for those reasons and then sometimes they have reasons no one can figure out…

I know one right now who has been a model prisoner and is well thought of by Warden and staff…also other inmates…served over half his sentence…done every thing according to what you think the parole board looks for…so why isn’t he paroled? We see people who do much worse get paroled …done less time…
Click to expand...
I am not defending the pardon and parole boards or even the justice system. My own belief is that as much as lawyers claim we have rule of law, the whole thing is too irrational to be based on a written code. The bone in my throat is this particular case. The defenders of Mr. Martorano mischaracterized the facts like “he was just a poor kid with a joint in his pocket that got caught and the mean ole judge sentenced him to life in prison and the whole world is against this poor creature and we need to write the president and stop this injustice”. Just on the surface, there appears to be whole lot more going on in this case than Mr. Martorano’s defenders are telling us.
 
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