When I was working on the Jonathan Pollard case for Court TV’s Crime Library, I was struck by a couple of remarkable aspects of it. The first was the apparent slipshod irresponsibility of the government in having allowed someone with Pollard’s personality around highly classified material. Pollard had a long history of spinning tall tales to impress just about anyone who would listen. As a young man, he loved to regale his peers with (then entirely fictional) stories about how he was a spy or had engaged in some sort of dangerous and dramatic activity.
He continued this pattern of bragging about all kinds of derring-do when he worked as an Intelligence Research Specialist in Naval Intelligence. His co-workers even joked about his tendency to tell fanciful tales. However, they did not try to eject him from his position for this reason. Should the government trust its major secrets to people who habitually blur the line between reality and fantasy?
Another thing that struck me about the case – and that I know troubles many – is the issue of fairness.
Pollard spied for Israel, one of America’s closest allies. Although he has often been called a “traitor,†he never “gave aid or comfort to an enemy†and that is how the United States Constitution defines treason.
No one else who spied for an ally has ever received more than fourteen years in prison, yet Pollard was sentenced to life despite the fact that he began cooperating with American authorities shortly after his crimes were discovered and despite the fact that, as a result of his cooperation, the prosecution did not even ask for a life sentence.
However, there are valid reasons to view his crimes harshly as top government officials have stated that he did much harm to American security. Intelligence officials have opposed clemency for this spy.
Was the severity the result of racial or religious bias? The American Jewish Congress investigated his case in 1988 and concluded that the sentence did not reflect any anti-Semitism.
That still leaves open the question of whether or not he is being treated fairly. My article is at http://www.crimelibrary.com/terrorists_spies/spies/pollard/1.html.
Readers – what do you think? Does Jonathan Pollard deserve the sentence he got?
