Freedom may be close on the horizon for Oregon ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond. The father and son were tried and convicted under the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 for setting a prescribed fire in 2001 that burned from private on to federally-maintained land. Steven, the son, was also convicted for setting a backburn in 2006 to prevent wildfire from spreading to his property.
Protect the Harvest (protecttheharvest.com), a nonprofit organization created to “defend and preserve the freedoms of American consumers, farmers, ranchers, outdoor enthusiasts, and animal owners,” penned a letter to the Trump administration in January 2018 asking that the case be reviewed.
The organization has recently learned that a pardon is in Trump’s office waiting for his review. To that end, the organization has initiated a petition seeking 100,000 signatures to help prompt a response by the White House.
The petition on behalf the Hammonds by Protect the Harvest reads:
“The Hammond case is viewed by many in the West, and indeed across the nation, as a manifest miscarriage of justice akin to double jeopardy. As long as Dwight and Steven Hammond remain in jail for what is obviously a gross miscarriage of justice, this matter remains a blight on the federal regulatory agencies and the criminal justice system.
“Rural communities of the West are greatly appreciative of the efforts of the Trump administration to restore the economies of these communities.
“We respectfully ask President Trump to pardon Dwight and Steven Hammond.”
The White House Petition to pardon the Hammonds can be found online at petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/pardon-dwight-and-steven-hammond.
Background
Dwight and Steven were initially sentenced to prison terms of three months and one year, respectively. They were also ordered to pay a $400,000 fine. The men served their time and were released. Later however, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the sentences as being too lenient at the urging of the U.S. government. The men were then ordered to complete the full five-year minimum sentences for arson as the federal law requires.
According to information on the website, freethehammonds.org, the fires burned less than 140 acres of brush, doing around $100 worth of damage.
The deadline to sign the petition is June 18, 2018 — WLJ
