Bush pardons 19, commutes 1 sentence

WASHINGTON (AP) — Before leaving for the holidays, President Bush on Tuesday commuted one prison sentence and granted 19 pardons, including one to a man who helped the Jewish resistance in the 1940s.

With this latest batch, which includes forgiveness for convictions ranging from gun and drug violations to bank and mail fraud, Bush has granted a total of 191 pardons and nine commutations. That’s fewer than half as many as Presidents Clinton or Reagan issued during their two terms.

Included in the latest list is Charles Winters, who died in the 1980s in Florida. Winters helped ship arms and aircraft to Jews trying to found their own state in the Middle East. He was convicted of violating the Neutrality Act and served 18 months in prison. Two others, Herman Greenspun and Al Schwimmer, also were convicted but did not serve time. They were later granted presidential pardons.

The only other presidential pardon granted posthumously in recent times was given to Henry O. Flipper, the first black graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Flipper was drummed out of the Army after white officers mistakenly accused him of embezzling about $3,800 from commissary funds.

In addition to Winters, others granted pardons were:

—William Alvis III, of Flushing, Ohio.

—John Allen Aregood of Riviera, Texas.

—Eric Charles Blanke of Parker, Colo.

—Steve Doyle Cavender of The Villages, Fla.

—Marie Elena Eppens of Lynden, Wash.

—Lydia Lee Ferguson of Sun City, Ariz.

—Eduviges Duvi Gonzalez-Matsumura of Clovis, Calif.

—George Clarence Greene Jr. of Gray, Ga.

—James Won Hee Kang of South Barrington, Ill.

—Alan Stephen Maiss of Reno, Nev.

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