Remember when some libertarians used to talk about Senator Orrin Hatch as though he were one of our own? He even addressed a Libertarian Party convention, if I remember correctly, and they used quotes from him in their PR material.
Back in November, Hatch bolstered his libertarian credentials slightly by securing a presidential pardon for John Forte, a hip-hop producer best known for working on the Fugees’ The Score. Forte was busted in 2000 for having 31 pounds of liquid cocaine, then sentenced to 14 years.
Now, Weldon Angelos, a much less successful hip-hop producer (who, unlike Forte, is actually one of Hatch’s constituents) faces 55 years in prison for carrying a gun while selling just 24 ounces of marijuana. The sentencing judge said that he found the sentence to be “unjust, cruel and irrational,” but said his hands were tied by the law.
So where’s Hatch now? Refusing to help. Why? Because, he says, Angelos is a drug user, while Forte was not.
More details here. Hat-tip to my sister.
6:47 pm on January 24, 2009
