Union Calendar No. 273 106Th Congress, 1St Session –––––––––– House Report 106–488
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1 Union Calendar No. 273 106th Congress, 1st Session ±±±±±±±±±± House Report 106±488 THE FALN AND MACHETEROS CLEMENCY: MISLEADING EXPLANATIONS, A RECKLESS DECISION, A DANGEROUS MESSAGE THIRD REPORT BY THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM together with DISSENTING AND ADDITIONAL VIEWS Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.house.gov/reform DECEMBER 10, 1999.ÐCommitted to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 60±619 CC WASHINGTON : 1999 COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM DAN BURTON, Indiana, Chairman BENJAMIN A. GILMAN, New York HENRY A. WAXMAN, California CONSTANCE A. MORELLA, Maryland TOM LANTOS, California CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut ROBERT E. WISE, JR., West Virginia ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida MAJOR R. OWENS, New York JOHN M. MCHUGH, New York EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York STEPHEN HORN, California PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania JOHN L. MICA, Florida PATSY T. MINK, Hawaii THOMAS M. DAVIS, Virginia CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York DAVID M. MCINTOSH, Indiana ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, Washington, MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana DC JOE SCARBOROUGH, Florida CHAKA FATTAH, Pennsylvania STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, Ohio ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland MARSHALL ``MARK'' SANFORD, South DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio Carolina ROD R. BLAGOJEVICH, Illinois BOB BARR, Georgia DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois DAN MILLER, Florida JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts ASA HUTCHINSON, Arkansas JIM TURNER, Texas LEE TERRY, Nebraska THOMAS H. ALLEN, Maine JUDY BIGGERT, Illinois HAROLD E. FORD, JR., Tennessee GREG WALDEN, Oregon JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY, Illinois DOUG OSE, California ÐÐÐ PAUL RYAN, Wisconsin BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont HELEN CHENOWETH-HAGE, Idaho (Independent) DAVID VITTER, Louisiana KEVIN BINGER, Staff Director JAMES C. WILSON, Chief Counsel KRISTI L. REMINGTON, Senior Counsel LISA SMITH ARAFUNE, Chief Clerk PHIL SCHILIRO, Minority Staff Director (II) LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, DC, December 10, 1999. Hon. J. DENNIS HASTERT, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, DC. DEAR MR. SPEAKER: By direction of the Committee on Govern- ment Reform, I submit herewith the committee's third report to the 106th Congress. DAN BURTON, Chairman. (III) (3) C O N T E N T S Page Findings of the Committee on Government Reform ............................................. 1 I. Why the Committee investigated the offer of clemency to the 16 terrorists 5 II. Factual background .......................................................................................... 11 A. The capture and conviction of the individuals offered clemency ............ 12 1. History of the FALN's reign of terror in Chicago and New York ..... 13 2. The capture of the ``Chicago 11'' .......................................................... 16 a. The investigation ........................................................................... 17 b. The trials ....................................................................................... 18 i. Ten individuals  tried in Chicago ........................................... 19 ii. Marõa Haydee Torres ............................................................. 20 iii. Oscar Lopez Rivera .............................................................. 21 3. 1985 Chicago FALN group .................................................................. 22 a. The safe houses ............................................................................. 22 b. Plans for prison breaks ................................................................. 23 c. Plans to rob the Chicago Transit Authority ................................ 24 d. The plan to assist FALN fugitive William Morales ................... 24 e. Plans for bombings ........................................................................ 25 f. The trial .......................................................................................... 25 4. The Macheteros' activities in Puerto Rico .......................................... 26 5. The Wells Fargo robbery and Macheteros convictions ...................... 29 a. The robbery .................................................................................... 29 b. The investigation and indictments .............................................. 30 c. The trials and convictions ............................................................. 32 B. The sentences of the 16 offered clemency ................................................. 34 1. Elizam Escobar ..................................................................................... 35 2. Ricardo Jimenez ................................................................................... 35 3. Adolfo Matos ......................................................................................... 36 4. Dylcia Noemi Pagan ............................................................................. 37 5. Alicia Rodrõguez ................................................................................... 37 6. Ida Luz Rodrõguez ................................................................................ 38 7. Luis Rosa .............................................................................................. 38 8. Carmen Valentõ n .................................................................................. 39 9. Alberto Rodrõguez ................................................................................. 39 10. Alejandrina Torres ............................................................................. 40 11. Edwin Corte s ...................................................................................... 40 12. Oscar Lopez ........................................................................................ 41 13. Juan Enrique Segarra-Palmer III ..................................................... 42 14. Antonio Camacho-Negron .................................................................. 42 15. Roberto Maldonado-Rivera ................................................................ 43 16. Norman Ramõrez-Talavera ................................................................ 43 III. The clemency process and decision ................................................................. 44 A. How the clemency process works ............................................................... 44 1. Procedures for commutation ................................................................ 44 2. Standards for considering commutation ............................................. 46 B. The FALN/Macheteros clemency process .................................................. 47 1. The application process ........................................................................ 47 2. The campaign for release ..................................................................... 48 3. Justice Department action on the clemency ...................................... 49 4. Opposition to the clemency .................................................................. 52 a. Offices of the U.S. Attorneys ........................................................ 52 b. The Federal Bureau of Investigation ........................................... 53 c. The Bureau of Prisons ................................................................... 54 d. The victims of the FALN and Macheteros' violence ................... 54 5. Two Justice Department reports on clemency ................................... 57 (V) VI Page Findings of the Committee on Government ReformÐContinued B. The FALN/Macheteros clemency processÐContinued 6. The White House's role in the clemency process ............................... 60 IV. The sentences were fair ................................................................................... 68 V. The FALN and Macheteros terrorists are strange candidates for clemency 72 A. Criteria for clemency .................................................................................. 73 B. The violent nature of those offered clemency ........................................... 74 1. Present day threats .............................................................................. 74 2. Violent escapes planned by Âthe FALN prisoners ............................... 75 a. Escape plan of Oscar Lopez Rivera ............................................. 75 b. Escape plans of Ricardo Jimenez ................................................. 78 C. The FALN and Macheteros members offered clemency expressed no remorse, nor did they exhibit any signs of rehabilitation ...................... 79 1. Statements of Oscar Lopez .................................................................. 81 2. Statements of Edwin Cortes ................................................................ 81 3. Statements of Adolfo Matos ................................................................. 82 4. Statements of Antonio Camacho-Negro n ........................................... 83 5. Statements of Ricardo Jimenez ........................................................... 83 6. The exception: Alberto Rodrõguez ....................................................... 84 D. No cooperation was requested or offered from the FALN and Macheteros members ................................................................................ 85 VI. The clemency decision and the U.S. commitment to fighting terrorism 85 A. The international message ......................................................................... 86 B. An inconsistent policy on dealing with terrorists ....................................