President Trump is reportedly considering a posthumous pardon for legendary boxer Jack Johnson. Trump said he was moved to take action after a call from actor Sylvester Stallone.
“Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial,” Trump Said via Twitter.
“Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!” he continued.
Johnson was the first black heavyweight champion of the world. An all-white jury convicted him in 1913 for transporting a woman across state lines for “immoral purposes,” after being pulled over with a white woman in his car. Johnson served a year in prison and was released in 1921. He died in 1946.
Sen. John McCain spent a number of years lobbying for a pardon for the late boxer. McCain first introduced legislation urging a pardon in 2004. Those resolutions were approved by both the House and the Senate.
President Trump has pardoned two individuals in the last several months. Last week he pardoned Lewis "Scooter" Libby, the former chief of staff to former Vice President Dick Cheney. Libby was convicted of lying to the FBI regarding the leak of the identity of a CIA agent.
In August, the president pardoned former Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio after he was found guilty of contempt of court when a Justice Department investigation found he racially profiled Latinos.
Source: thehill.com
