New York Governor Kathy Hochul has pardoned a group of migrants with criminal records — including one man convicted of manslaughter.
[snip]
Vatthanavong, who came to the U.S. after the Vietnam War, told the outlet that he fired the fatal shot during a fight outside a pool hall, claiming he acted in self-defense.
“They’ve paid their debt, and I’ll be damned if I let them be deported to a country where they don’t know a soul,” Hochul told the Times in defense of her decision.
“And to those who would demonize them to score political points, I ask: Where is your compassion?”
In New York, a pardon does not erase a conviction, but it does shield recipients from consequences such as deportation.
[snip]
The governor disclosed the pardons only after the Times published its report Friday.
“After careful deliberation, I’m granting clemency to thirteen individuals who have demonstrated remorse for their actions and exemplify a commitment to bettering their communities,” Hochul said in a statement on the state website.
[snip]
Hochul’s office did not clarify whether more pardons of this kind are planned. Officials noted she has received 84 pardon applications and 186 requests for commutations so far this year.
(*) If you take notice to Hochul’s one lazy eye, I think I figured out why she’s such a lunatic. I think she was kicked in the side of the head by a horse as a child.
https://www.oann.com/newsroom/hochul-issues-pardons-to-13-ex-con-migrants-including-man-convicted-of-manslaughter/
