President Barack Obama issued the first pardons of his presidency today, all for relatively minor offenses. Clearly he's playing it safe, because six of the nine people didn't even go to prison.
One of them, Georgian Russell Dixon, was caught making moonshine 50 years ago.
The pardoned people are:
• James Bernard Banks, Liberty, Utah. Offense: Illegal possession of government property; 18 U.S.C. § 641. Sentence: Oct. 31, 1972; District of Utah; two years of probation.
• Russell James Dixon, Clayton, Ga. Offense: Felony liquor law violation; 26 U.S.C. § 5604(a)(1). Sentence: June 23, 1960; Northern District of Georgia; two years of probation.
• Laurens Dorsey, Syracuse, N.Y. Offense: Conspiracy to defraud the United States by making false statements to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; 18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 1001. Sentence: Aug. 31, 1998; District of New Jersey; five years of probation and $71,000 restitution.
• Ronald Lee Foster, Beaver Falls, Penn. Offense: Mutilation of coins; 18 U.S.C. § 331. Sentence: Oct. 4, 1963; Eastern District of North Carolina; one year of probation and $20 fine.
• Timothy James Gallagher, Navasota, Texas. Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine; 21 U.S.C. § 846. Sentence: Oct. 18, 1982; District of Arizona; three years of probation.
• Roxane Kay Hettinger, Powder Springs, Ga. Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine; 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846. Sentence: March 31, 1986; Northern District of Iowa; 30 days in jail followed by three years of probation.
• Edgar Leopold Kranz Jr., Minot, N.D. Offense: Wrongful use of cocaine, adultery and writing three insufficient fund checks; Articles 112a and 134, Uniform Code of Military Justice. Sentence: Sept. 14, 1994, as approved Nov. 4, 1994; General court martial convened at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; bad-conduct discharge (suspended), 24 months of confinement and reduction to pay grade E-1.
• Floretta Leavy, Rockford, Ill. Offense: Distribution of cocaine, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute; 21 U.S. C. §§ 841(a)(1), (a)(2) and 846, 18 U.S.C. § 2. Sentence: Oct. 19, 1984; District of Kansas; one year and one day in prison and three years of special parole.
• Scoey Lathaniel Morris, Crosby, Texas. Offense: Passing counterfeit obligations or securities; 18 U.S.C. §§ 472 and 2. Sentence: May 21, 1999; Western District of Texas; three years of probation and $1,200 restitution, jointly and severally.
Read more at Huffington Post.