White House Ultimatum for Clemency Decision
Excerpts from "Ultimatum for FALN"
September 6, 1999By Lynn Sweet Sun-Times Washington Bureau
President Clinton set a Friday deadline for 11 FALN prisoners to accept his clemency offer, with the White House increasingly concerned over the protracted amount of time the inmates are taking to reach a decision, administration sources said Sunday.
"I think it's time for them to . . . sign and to get out of jail," Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Because now they are becoming prisoners of a partisan political debate. We want them back home in our communities."
In urging the prisoners to accept the deal, Gutierrez dropped his campaign to pressure Clinton to change the parole restrictions attached to the Aug. 11 clemency offer for the FALN inmates, the Spanish acronym for the Armed Forces of National Liberation. The group wants Puerto Rico's independence from the United States.
"The issue is taking too long to decide," a White House source said. In the days since the Aug. 11 offer, congressional opposition has escalated. A Senate hearing is set for Sept. 15, while sympathizers have started a drive for unconditional release of the 11 prisoners and four others not covered by the clemency grant.
Also, the prisoners' lawyers made overtures--which have been rebuffed, the White House source said--to allow the group to report to a special parole unit.
"We have not dragged our feet," said Jan Susler, the Chicago-based lawyer for the inmates. "Even before being informed of the deadline, we fully expected to have a decision by this week." ...
Clinton's offer also was contingent on the prisoners' agreement to personally request clemency and to adhere to standard rules covering any inmate who is on parole.
Last Friday, the White House faxed a letter to Susler saying the clemency offer will be withdrawn if not accepted by 5 p.m. this Friday. The Chicago Sun-Times obtained a copy of the letter.
"As you know, the president has rejected your clients' view that they are deserving of unconditional clemency," said the the letter, which was signed by Dawn Chirwa, an associate counsel to the president. "He believes that they engaged in serious criminal conduct for which they should have been held accountable."
But Josefina Rodriguez, the mother of two of the 11 prisoners, Alicia Rodriguez and Ida Luz Rodriguez, said they've served long enough. "I have my fingers crossed that they free them. But the deal they're offering isn't fair," she said. ...
The deadline cuts short Susler's plan to meet with 15 prisoners--including the four not offered clemency--to discuss the offer. Since Aug. 22, Susler has met with six of them in five prisons in four states and held two phone conference calls. Another group call is scheduled Wednesday. ...
Back to index page. Last updated 4 September 1999.