Pubdate: Sun, 24 Dec 2000
Source: San Jose Mercury News (CA)
Copyright: 2000 San Jose Mercury News
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Author: Howard Mintz, Mercury News

AFTER TURNING HIS LIFE AROUND, SCOTTS VALLEY MAN GETS GIFT FROM CLINTON

A Presidential Pardon

A Scotts Valley man got the best possible Christmas present from
President Clinton on Saturday -- his good name back.

Capping a seven-year quest that appeared all but lost, Dent Snider Jr.
found himself on a list of 59 people nationwide given presidential
pardons in these waning days of the Clinton administration. The White
House pardon wiped a 19-year-old federal drug conviction off Snider's
record and rewarded an effort to gain clemency that began with a thick
packet of material sent to Clinton in 1993.

"I was kind of cynical about the government, thinking they don't care
about individuals," said the 55-year-old Snider, who Saturday evening
was drafting a letter of thanks to Clinton. "I'm certainly grateful.
It was a very good Christmas present for me."

For Snider, now a social worker who helps counsel drug addicts in
Santa Cruz, the pardon amounts to absolution for a youthful mistake 27
years ago in Hawaii. As he describes it, Snider got involved in a
cocaine deal -- selling drugs in what turned out to be an undercover
government operation -- while living on the island of Oahu in 1973.

Snider did not learn of the government investigation until seven years
later, long after he had moved to Denver. He was arrested during a
Denver barroom scuffle, and police turned up an arrest warrant on
federal drug charges that had been gathering dust in the Hawaii courts.

Facing a possible prison sentence, Snider in 1981 pleaded guilty to a
federal charge of using the telephone to facilitate the sale of
cocaine. He received a sentence of four years probation, light
punishment by today's standards -- virtually any cocaine-related drug
conviction now carries prison time under tough federal sentencing laws
enacted during the past decade.

Lengthy Process

"I'm not proud of what I did," Snider said. "I know it was wrong
and I suffered the consequences. But I turned my life around."

In many respects, Snider's arrest and conviction in Colorado was only
the beginning of a lengthy odyssey to rehabilitate both his life and
name. Fighting drug and alcohol problems, Snider said he checked into
a program in 1987 and has remained sober ever since.

Snider now recalls that his bid for clemency was inspired by a 1992
discussion with the lawyer who represented him on the old drug charge.
Snider had not been able to pay the lawyer his full legal tab after
the 1981 conviction, but had put the cash together 11 years later and
settled the debt.

At the same time, Snider hoped the lawyer could get his record
expunged. Even though Snider did not lose many rights and could vote
in California, the conviction gnawed at him -- he'd grown weary of
explaining his felony background every time he applied for a job. But
the lawyer explained that a presidential pardon is the only way to
erase a federal felony record.

So Snider in 1993 sent a clemency petition to the Clinton
administration, which responded with years of silence.

"I never heard from them," Snider said. "They just kept putting me
off."

As Snider's clemency petition languished, he started working at a
non-profit counseling center in Santa Cruz, aiding the mentally ill
and drug addicted. Finally, after sending more letters to pardon
officials, Snider got news last year, but it was bad news. Without
explanation, his request for clemency was rejected.

"It was devastating," he said. "It was like a slap in the face.
They said basically it was a closed door."

Holiday Tradition

But holiday pardons are a tradition for lame duck presidents, who can
afford to soften their stances on crime and punishment as they prepare
to leave office. Fortunately for Snider, Clinton, who had granted 196
pardons in two terms before this weekend's batch, kept up the tradition.

On Saturday morning, the administration's pardon lawyers phoned Snider
and informed him that he would be cleared of the old drug conviction.
It may not have made headlines like the pardon of former congressman
Dan Rostenkowski, but it was big news in the Snider household.

"It was out of the blue," Snider said of the pardon. "I had turned
my life around and done everything they required to be eligible. It
was always out there. All the things I'd accomplished never offset
this one mistake, this one thing. I could never get beyond it, until
now."
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