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| For Immediate Release | |
| Sep 14, 1999 | Contact: Press Office 202-646-5172 |
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Provided Father Had Been Killed on His 9th Birthday by FALN TERRORISTS Testimony to Occur at 9:00 am Today Before the Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps, Narcotics and Terrorism of the Committee on Foreign Relations in Room 419 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building (Washington, September 14) -- Joseph Connor, whose father, Frank Connor, was killed at Fraunces Tavern 24 years ago by terrorists, will appear today before the Senate and ask it to investigate the following aspects of President Clinton's clemency grant: Why the President disregarded the recommendations by the FBI, Justice Department and Bureau of Prisons that the terrorists not be released? Why the victims and their families were neither given proper notification of the clemency nor a meeting with Janet Reno, as pro clemency supporters were granted? The impact of granting of clemency to the FALN terrorists will have on future terrorist acts, including the possible clemency request by William Morales. Why the President initiated the clemency process without a formal request from the terrorists themselves? Whether Hillary Rodham Clinton's political aspirations in New York State played a role in the clemency grant? In his statement, copies of which will be available at the hearing, Mr. Connor explains why the political expediency of the Clinton's should not take precedence over justice, and the memory of his beloved father, who was killed senselessly at Fraunces Tavern where he had been meeting with clients on behalf of the Morgan Guaranty Bank. In his prepared statement, Mr. Connor explains the severe impact his father's death has had on his family, and he asks why he was not paid even minimal courtesy by the Clinton Administration as required by the Victim's Rights and Restitution Act of 1990, which provides that a "responsible official" was to give him notice at the earliest possible date of the release from custody of the Puerto Rican terrorists. Mr. Connor also questions why the recommendation of the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons, and the U.S. Attorneys Office not to release the terrorists was discounted because of an alleged request for their release from Jimmy Carter. Mr. Connor concludes his statement by saying:"Thanks to the President's callous disregard for the rights of the victims, the threat of terrorism is now back and the world is a less safe place as a result. I keep hearing the President repeating that we have to protect our children. Is unleashing unrepenting, hardened killers on society the way to do so? It shouldn't "Take A Village" to see that trampling on the rights of victims, and ignoring proven prevention techniques in our criminal justice system for considering and denying clemency applications, is not the way to fight terrorism." |
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