You may recall that we wrote an article about the late boxer Jack Johnson who was imprisoned for an affair with a white woman back in 1913 (click here for that story).
Well news out of Washington states that the Justice Department is not supporting a bid to pardon Johnson.
The department's pardon attorney, Ronald Rodgers, told Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., in a letter that DOJ's general policy is not to process posthumous pardon requests. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the letter on Thursday.
Rodgers writes that the department's resources for pardon requests are best used on behalf of people “who can truly benefit” from them. King sponsored a congressional resolution that urged President Barack Obama, the son of a black man and white woman, to pardon Johnson.
Rodgers noted that Obama still has the authority to pardon whomever he wishes.
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