Man pardoned more than 40 years after stealing car for return to base

[Tab]

ROWLEY, Mass. (AP) — It was 1963, Airman Richard Morse was 19, and with only a few hours to go before he would be declared AWOL, he was in Pensacola — a long way from his Air Force base in Biloxi, Mississippi. When he saw a pink Cadillac with the keys in the ignition, he got in, and away he went.

That decision would land Morse in jail for five months after he ran out of gas and was found by a police officer, who returned him to base to face eventual discharge and court conviction for interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.
...
The pardon didn't come easily, and his decision to seek it didn't come quickly. After he served his time at an Alabama work camp, he returned home to Lynn, and never got in trouble again during his five year probation.
...
So he set out to clear his name, getting character witnesses to fill out questionnaires. There were interviews with FBI agents. Every few months, Morse would call to check on the case, but didn't get much of a response. He last wrote to the justice department in January, and sent a similar letter to President Bush.
http://www.masslive.com/newsflash/mass/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1100933074140680.xml&storylist=massnews

[shesemsmom]

1. If I were him

and had to take my pardon from shrub, I wound have rather done without it

[DoNotRefill]

2. He committed a felony when he falsified the 4473.

Somehow, I doubt he'll be prosecuted...

[Menshevik]

3. I'm surprised the pardon wasn't conditional

on him returning to the military so he could be sent to Iraq!