Lindh asks Bush to commute his 20-year sentence

The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO -- John Walker Lindh asked President Bush on Tuesday to commute his 20-year prison sentence for aiding the Taliban.

His attorney, James Brosnahan, said that Lindh was fighting alongside the Taliban in a civil war against the Northern Alliance, that he is not a terrorist and that he never fought against U.S. troops.

Lindh, a 23-year-old California native, pleaded guilty in civilian court to supplying services to the now-defunct Taliban government and carrying explosives for them.

He and Hamdi were both captured in late 2001.

Brosnahan said he negotiated the 20-year sentence during a time when a "highest state of fear" was affecting U.S. juries and he thought it was the best deal he could get at the time. He could have gotten life in prison if convicted.

Frank Zimring, a University of California, Berkeley, legal scholar and an expert on clemency, said it is unlikely the president will reduce Lindh's term, especially during a presidential election focused on the war on terror.

"The morning line on the commutation of a sentence of this kind in a middle of a presidential election is one of those situations where London bookies would offer you millions of pounds for just a shilling or two," he said.

Lindh's mother, Marilyn Walker, said her son "has never had any sympathy or involvement in terrorist activity."