The Chron highlights some of the pardons issued by the Bush Administration. So far.
Looking over some of the people pardoned, and the crimes they are being pardoned for, I wonder whether political points are being made:
Daniel Pue is one of 14 people — including two other Texans — who received a pardon from the outgoing president on Monday.
Daniel Pue by no means will go down in the annals of high-profile pardons. It's not surprising why. His original crime? Transporting sludge.
He was convicted in 1996 on federal charges of illegal storage, disposal and transportation of a hazardous waste without a permit, according to court records. The waste was pentachlorophenol and creosote sludge. He was sentenced to three years' probation with six months' home detention on each charge. The sentences were to run concurrently. He was also fined $1,000.
He said he transported waste as an employee for Conroe Creosoting Co. and believes he was unjustly prosecuted because he was just doing his job. The company, where he worked 17 years, paid his legal bills and closed shortly after he was sentenced, he said.
The White House didn't disclose why Daniel Pue received the pardon.Daniel Pue is one of 14 people — including two other Texans — who received a pardon from the outgoing president on Monday.
A slap at environmentalists? These two nuggets stand out as well:
• Leslie Owen Collier of Charleston, Mo., pleaded guilty in 1995 to unlawfully killing three bald eagles in southeast Missouri.
• Milton Kirk Cordes of Rapid City, S.D., convicted of conspiracy to import wildlife taken in violation of conservation laws.