No clemency for Justin Volpe

In his waning days in the Oval Office, George W. Bush rejected granting clemency to several high-profile felons. Ex-media mogul Conrad Black, former White House official "Scooter" Libby, and ex-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales were among those who came up empty-handed.

One of those whose clemency request was rejected was former New York City cop Justin Volpe. In 1999, Volpe was convicted to thirty years in jail over the police brutality case of Abner Louima. Louima had been on the receiving end of an ugly beating at the hand of several cops including being sodomized by a plunger.

A Gothamist post last month observed that, “family, friends, and a priest” pushed for a reduced sentence for Volpe. Ultimately (and thankfully) it was all for naught.

On Monday, Bush did commute the sentences of a pair of ex-Border Patrol agents who were convicted of shooting an unarmed Mexican drug smuggler and trying to cover it up. An editorial in yesterday’s Dallas Morning News had this to say over Bush’s decision:

Perhaps the commutation will end the undeserved celebrity status that had erupted around these two former agents. [ed. Just ask Glenn Beck]. Anti-immigration organizations have used them as poster boys to perpetuate a myth that they were in prison for doing their jobs while drug smugglers were allowed to go free.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Ramos and Compean committed felonies and were rightly brought to justice. Perhaps now the Obama administration can have a comprehensive immigration discussion without this distraction clouding the conversation.

Image- BBC News
Online Sources- The Latin Americanist, BBC News, Dallas Morning News, Fox News, New York Times, MSNBC, Gothamist

Louima cop wants sentence commuted

One of the former New York policemen convicted in the infamous Abner Louima (image) sodomy case is seeking a reduced sentence.

Justin Volpe was convicted of torturing the Haitian immigrant in 1997 and was sentenced to thirty years in prison. He has spent nearly 12 years in jail without parole and recently petitioned the Justice Department for a reduced sentence.

Along with Volpe’s petition were notes sent by family and friends on his behalf. Yet his crime outraged New Yorkers and shined a light on police abuse during the Giuliani administration:

One officer, Justin A. Volpe, admitted in court in May 1999 that he had rammed a broken broomstick into Mr. Louima’s rectum and then thrust it in his face. He said he had mistakenly believed that Mr. Louima had punched him in the head during a street brawl outside a nightclub in Flatbush, but he acknowledged that he had also intended to humiliate the handcuffed immigrant. He left the force and was later sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Image- CNN
Sources- Gothamist, NY1, newsday.com, City Room