Spitzer Pardons Ex-Convict to Spare Him Deportation
Spitzer Pardons Ex-Convict to Spare Him Deportation
http://www.nytimes.com
Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced the pardon on Friday of a 54-year-old Brooklyn man convicted of robbery 16 years ago, saying the pardon would spare the man from being deported to Jamaica.
The man, Frederick Lake, entered the United States legally in 1987, but was facing deportation under a federal statute that calls for the removal of a lawful alien who is convicted of an aggravated felony. Although convicted of robbery in 1991 and released from prison in 1997, Mr. Lake has long maintained his innocence, and a judicial inquiry suggested that he might have been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
Mr. Spitzer said he issued the pardon at least in part so that Mr. Lake, who suffers from heart disease and diabetes, could remain with his wife and two young sons in East Flatbush, where he has lived since his release from prison 10 years ago.
“Mr. Lake has fully served the sentence imposed upon him for his robbery conviction,â€