John McCain wants President Obama to pardon boxer Jack Johnson

[Honey]

AP
Back in the early 1900s, boxer Jack Johnson was charged with violating the Mann Act, which forbid “transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes.” This act was intended to put an end to prostitution and an amended version is actually still in place. In 1913, Jackson was the first to be prosecuted under the act, and he was convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to a year and a day in prison. After fleeing the country and living abroad for seven years, Johnson returned to the United States and served his sentence.
Since Johnson’s death, there have been a couple attempts to grant him a posthumous pardon, and Sen. John McCain is now asking President Obama for a second time to pardon Johnson. He and New York Rep. Peter King requested one in April of this year, but the White House did not respond, so they’re trying again. Today, the two sent another letter to Obama, saying they hoped he would be eager to erase this “act of racism.” Posthumously pardoning Johnson won’t get rid of what the boxer went through almost a century ago, but do you think doing so would send a positive statement? [ESPN]

John McCain Wants President Obama To Pardon Boxer Jack Johnson | The Frisky

[Alysheba]

Gee McCain what's next? First this and then it's ok for women to be gang raped who work for Haliburton.

[MontanaMama]

My thoughts exactly. Let's not forget his boobalicious daughter's new bff, Tila Tequila.

I'm just so damn disappointed that he's not the President.

[celeb_2006]

Jack Johnson was the MAN.

Forget Ali, everyone seems to gush over him, but for guys like me, Jack was the epitome of a champion, a f**king warrior, and a guy that just plain didn't give a f**k what society thought about him.

Supremely talented, fantastic athlete, he thumbed his nose at the racist bigots.

[kingcap72]

Johnson deserves a pardon, and it's long overdue.

Hmm, but I wonder why McCain didn't ask his good friend Dubya to pardon Johnson? He had 8 years to do it.

[visitor42]

Hmm, but I wonder why McCain didn't ask his good friend Dubya to pardon Johnson? He had 8 years to do it.

Excellent question.

[celeb_2006]

Johnson deserves a pardon, and it's long overdue.

Hmm, but I wonder why McCain didn't ask his good friend Dubya to pardon Johnson? He had 8 years to do it.

During that time McCain didn't really care about courting the Black vote and audience obviously.

Quite obvious what he's up to.

[Chilly Willy]

Hmm, but I wonder why McCain didn't ask his good friend Dubya to pardon Johnson? He had 8 years to do it.

Good question.

[celeb_2006]

A pre schooler can see through this hollow grasp at 'softening' the image of his party.

Maybe he should think about that vote against women being able to file lawsuits against contractors, the dirtbag.

[witchcurlgirl]

He did ask Bush, in 2005:



A Pardon For Jack Johnson?

McCain Leads Effort To Get Famed Black Heavyweight Champ A Pardon

President Bush is being asked to issue a posthumous presidential pardon for Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, who was convicted in 1913 in a case based on his consensual relationship with a white woman.

"No one should be punished for choosing to go their own way," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has led the effort in Congress to pass legislation for a pardon.

"Johnson’s conviction was motivated by nothing more than the color of his skin," said McCain, in a letter to President Bush urging that a pardon be granted. "As such, it injured not only Mr. Johnson but also our nation as a whole."

Johnson became the champion in 1908 and was convicted under a law that banned the interstate transport of women for immoral purposes.

The boxer was a flamboyant celebrity whose rise led challenger Jim Jeffries to come out of retirement as the "Great White Hope" in an unsuccessful bid to beat Johnson. Johnson's career was derailed by the conviction. He fled the country as a fugitive and lived in Paris for seven years before agreeing to return and serve a 10-month jail sentence at Fort Leavenworth.

Last year, the Senate passed a version of the McCain bill, but the House did not vote on it. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., is now pushing the House version of the bill.

"He was a victim of the times, he was a victim of the racial ethos," King said.

The effort to get a pardon for Johnson is bipartisan. McCain's letter to President Bush requesting a presidential pardon is co-signed by Republican Senators Orrin Hatch and Ted Stevens, and Democratic Senators John Kerry, Ted Kennedy and Harry Reid.

As governor of Texas, President Bush proclaimed Johnson's birthday as Jack Johnson Day for five straight years.

The case for pardoning Johnson has gained momentum since a documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns was broadcast on PBS earlier this year.

"Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson," examined the prosecution of the case and the sentencing judge's admission that the conviction was meant to "send a message" to black men about relationships with white women.

The trial itself was marked by unusual turns as Johnson flouted social mores in the era of Jim Crow laws.

The government charged him in 1912 with abducting Lucille Cameron, but then lost Cameron as a witness when she married Johnson, the second white woman to do so. By law, a wife cannot be forced to testify against her husband. Instead, prosecutors found a former mistress to testify against him.

The son of former slaves, Johnson was born on March 31, 1878, in Galveston, Texas; he died in 1946 and is buried in Chicago.

"While we cannot change history, and Johnson's passing makes it impossible to ease his suffering," said Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill. "A pardon will reaffirm America's dedication to fairness and justice for all."

A Pardon For Jack Johnson? - CBS News

[celeb_2006]

He did ask Bush, in 2005:



A Pardon For Jack Johnson?

McCain Leads Effort To Get Famed Black Heavyweight Champ A Pardon

President Bush is being asked to issue a posthumous presidential pardon for Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, who was convicted in 1913 in a case based on his consensual relationship with a white woman.

"No one should be punished for choosing to go their own way," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has led the effort in Congress to pass legislation for a pardon.

"Johnson’s conviction was motivated by nothing more than the color of his skin," said McCain, in a letter to President Bush urging that a pardon be granted. "As such, it injured not only Mr. Johnson but also our nation as a whole."

Johnson became the champion in 1908 and was convicted under a law that banned the interstate transport of women for immoral purposes.

The boxer was a flamboyant celebrity whose rise led challenger Jim Jeffries to come out of retirement as the "Great White Hope" in an unsuccessful bid to beat Johnson. Johnson's career was derailed by the conviction. He fled the country as a fugitive and lived in Paris for seven years before agreeing to return and serve a 10-month jail sentence at Fort Leavenworth.

Last year, the Senate passed a version of the McCain bill, but the House did not vote on it. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., is now pushing the House version of the bill.

"He was a victim of the times, he was a victim of the racial ethos," King said.

The effort to get a pardon for Johnson is bipartisan. McCain's letter to President Bush requesting a presidential pardon is co-signed by Republican Senators Orrin Hatch and Ted Stevens, and Democratic Senators John Kerry, Ted Kennedy and Harry Reid.

As governor of Texas, President Bush proclaimed Johnson's birthday as Jack Johnson Day for five straight years.

The case for pardoning Johnson has gained momentum since a documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns was broadcast on PBS earlier this year.

"Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson," examined the prosecution of the case and the sentencing judge's admission that the conviction was meant to "send a message" to black men about relationships with white women.

The trial itself was marked by unusual turns as Johnson flouted social mores in the era of Jim Crow laws.

The government charged him in 1912 with abducting Lucille Cameron, but then lost Cameron as a witness when she married Johnson, the second white woman to do so. By law, a wife cannot be forced to testify against her husband. Instead, prosecutors found a former mistress to testify against him.

The son of former slaves, Johnson was born on March 31, 1878, in Galveston, Texas; he died in 1946 and is buried in Chicago.

"While we cannot change history, and Johnson's passing makes it impossible to ease his suffering," said Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill. "A pardon will reaffirm America's dedication to fairness and justice for all."

A Pardon For Jack Johnson? - CBS News

oh snap, whoops.

[kingcap72]

During that time McCain didn't really care about courting the Black vote and audience obviously.

Quite obvious what he's up to.

Yeah, I know it's obvious what he's up to, that's why I asked the question to begin with.

[kingcap72]

He did ask Bush, in 2005:



A Pardon For Jack Johnson?

McCain Leads Effort To Get Famed Black Heavyweight Champ A Pardon

President Bush is being asked to issue a posthumous presidential pardon for Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, who was convicted in 1913 in a case based on his consensual relationship with a white woman.

"No one should be punished for choosing to go their own way," said Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who has led the effort in Congress to pass legislation for a pardon.

"Johnson’s conviction was motivated by nothing more than the color of his skin," said McCain, in a letter to President Bush urging that a pardon be granted. "As such, it injured not only Mr. Johnson but also our nation as a whole."

Johnson became the champion in 1908 and was convicted under a law that banned the interstate transport of women for immoral purposes.

The boxer was a flamboyant celebrity whose rise led challenger Jim Jeffries to come out of retirement as the "Great White Hope" in an unsuccessful bid to beat Johnson. Johnson's career was derailed by the conviction. He fled the country as a fugitive and lived in Paris for seven years before agreeing to return and serve a 10-month jail sentence at Fort Leavenworth.

Last year, the Senate passed a version of the McCain bill, but the House did not vote on it. Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., is now pushing the House version of the bill.

"He was a victim of the times, he was a victim of the racial ethos," King said.

The effort to get a pardon for Johnson is bipartisan. McCain's letter to President Bush requesting a presidential pardon is co-signed by Republican Senators Orrin Hatch and Ted Stevens, and Democratic Senators John Kerry, Ted Kennedy and Harry Reid.

As governor of Texas, President Bush proclaimed Johnson's birthday as Jack Johnson Day for five straight years.

The case for pardoning Johnson has gained momentum since a documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns was broadcast on PBS earlier this year.

"Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson," examined the prosecution of the case and the sentencing judge's admission that the conviction was meant to "send a message" to black men about relationships with white women.

The trial itself was marked by unusual turns as Johnson flouted social mores in the era of Jim Crow laws.

The government charged him in 1912 with abducting Lucille Cameron, but then lost Cameron as a witness when she married Johnson, the second white woman to do so. By law, a wife cannot be forced to testify against her husband. Instead, prosecutors found a former mistress to testify against him.

The son of former slaves, Johnson was born on March 31, 1878, in Galveston, Texas; he died in 1946 and is buried in Chicago.

"While we cannot change history, and Johnson's passing makes it impossible to ease his suffering," said Rep. Jesse Jackson, Jr., D-Ill. "A pardon will reaffirm America's dedication to fairness and justice for all."

A Pardon For Jack Johnson? - CBS News

Oh, so McCain did ask Dubya. But he asked Dubya once and dropped it, but he's asking Obama for the second time in less than a year. He seems to be pushing Obama harder than he pushed Dubya.

John McCain is now asking President Obama for a second time to pardon Johnson. He and New York Rep. Peter King requested one in April of this year, but the White House did not respond, so they’re trying again.

[witchcurlgirl]

Some more info on this:

If we go purely by statistical analysis, then the odds of any particular individual receiving a pardon are perhaps 3 in 100. However, the odds for Johnson are closer to even. For one thing, the DOJ will probably recommend a pardon. In addition, the Johnson story is big news. For example, during January 2005, Google News reported about 60 different news stories on the topic, and I didn't see one that urged against the pardon.

There are also two resolutions brought before Congress. On October 5, 2004, Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), a signatory to the petition for pardon, introduced a resolution, S. Res. 447, that expressed the desire that the President should exercise his authority to pardon Jack Johnson. The resolution passed. The related bill in the House of Representatives, H. Con. Res. 526, was sent to committee on November 19, 2004. In April 2005, that bill remained in committee, too, notwithstanding popular reports that both houses passed the resolution. Nonetheless, resolution sponsors reiterated their wishes in a formal letter to the President sent late March 2005. And perhaps most importantly, in January 2005, Burns' documentary debuted to considerable fanfare.


Will Li'l Bush Pardon Li'l Arthur? Some Legal Background to the Jack Johnson Pardon Petition

[kingcap72]

Dubya became president in 2001, but McCain waited until 2004/05 to ask for the pardon. Obama becomes president in 2009, and he asks him twice in under a year for the pardon. Johnson deserves his pardon, but McCain's timing and zeal to get it done seems a little fishy.