Presidential pardon serves justice to Hammonds

Last week, President Trump pardoned 76-year old Oregon rancher Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr., and his 49-year old son, Steven Hammond.

I strongly believe that the pardon was justified after the vindictive prosecution and excessive sentencing of the Hammonds.

In 2001, the Hammonds were conducting controlled burns, a common land management technique, on their land to burn invasive weeds on their property.

The fire spread unintentionally to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands, burning about 140 acres.

In 2006, the Hammonds started a backfire to halt the spread of larger wildfires to protect their cattle grazing land. Less than an acre of land was consumed.

In response, federal agencies threw the book, hard, at the Hammonds. The two were prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice and convicted of arson under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act.

Dwight was initially sentenced to three months in prison, and Steven Hammond was sentenced to a year and one-day term, with the federal judge stating that any longer prison term would be a “shock to the conscience.”

The federal government appealed the initial sentence, with prosecutors seeking a heavier penalty.

After they had served their initial time and had returned home, the Hammonds were then sentenced to a minimum of five years and returned to prison.

The overzealous prosecution under anti-terrorism laws against the Hammonds was a miscarriage of justice, and the harsh sentencing inflamed distrust among ranchers and cattlemen who were already frustrated with federal inaction and land mismanagement.

Before President Trump’s pardon, Dwight had served about three years in prison, and his son had served about four years.

The Hammonds have also paid $400,000 to settle a civil suit related to the burnings. They have paid their debts to society and then some.

The Hammonds represent the valid frustrations many rural communities have with the federal government, and I support President Trump’s decision to pardon the Hammonds.

Instead of vindictive prosecutions against ranchers and cattlemen, federal agencies should focus on restoring trust with rural communities and improving land management practices.

With the pardon of the Hammonds, finally, justice has been served.