Father of ‘American Taliban’ urges commuted sentence for son News
Father of ‘American Taliban’ urges commuted sentence for son

[JURIST] The father of John Walker Lindh [CNN profile; JURIST news archive], the American caught fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, called on President Bush Thursday to grant his son clemency and commute his 20 year sentence in a speech to San Francisco's Commonwealth Club. Lindh, who was 20-years-old when captured in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty in 2002 to supplying services to the Taliban under a plea agreement [PDF text] with prosecutors. Lindh asked for a commuted sentence [JURIST report] in 2004, but then-Attorney General John Ashcroft denied the request [JURIST news archive]. Last month, lawyers for Lindh made a second request [JURIST report] for a commuted prison sentence. AP has more.

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