Man Pardoned 50 Years After Court-Martial

WASHINGTON

Court-martialed a half-century ago over $50, George Anderson Glenn was among 11 people pardoned Tuesday by President Bush.

Glenn was a 19-year-old Army private when he accepted the money to ride herd on a shipment of goods destined for the black market in South Korea.

"It's sort of like a big stone been taken off my shoulders," Glenn, now 69, said in a telephone interview from his home in Alexandria, Ala., after he received word he had been pardoned.

Bush has issued 82 pardons and sentence commutations during 63 months in office, mainly to allow people who committed relatively minor offenses and served their sentences long ago to clear their names.

Despite the court-martial in 1956, Glenn served 20 years in the Army. He retired in 1977 as a sergeant after spending time in Vietnam, then worked at nearby Fort McClellan as a civilian. Glenn said he handled classified material in that job.

He thought his name had been cleared because of his long military and civilian service. But when he went to renew a permit for his gun a few years ago, an FBI records check turned up the court-martial.

Glenn asked for the pardon three years ago, after telling his children about his mistake, he said.

Others granted pardons Tuesday were:

_Patrick Harold Ackerman, Salem, Ore., filing false statements. Sentenced May 5, 1980, to six months imprisonment, five years probation and a $5,000 fine.

_Karen Marie Edmonson, Roseville, Minn., distribution of methamphetamine. Sentenced April 19, 1978, to 18 months in prison and three years special parole.

_Anthony Americo Franchi, Weston, Mass., income tax evasion. Sentenced February 9, 1983, to two years probation, community service and a $20,000 fine.

_Timothy Mark Freudenthal, Wautoma, Wis., conspiracy to introduce imported merchandise into commerce of the United States. Sentenced March 11, 1985, to one year of probation.

_Mark Reuben Hale, Henderson, Texas, savings and loan fraud. Sentenced July 10, 1991, to three years in prison.

_Kenneth Ward Hill, Falkner, Miss., attempted tax evasion. Sentenced June 4, 1992, to two years probation and a $20,000 fine.

_Margaret Ann Leggett, Hot Springs, Ark., conspiracy to defraud the United States by making false claims for income tax refunds. Sentenced May 8, 1981, to three months in prison, 33 months probation.

_Elke Margarethe Mikaelian, Roswell, N.M., misprision (concealment) of a felony. Sentenced Aug. 6, 1993, to three years probation.

_Karl Bruce Weber, Pensacola, Fla., possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Sentenced Dec. 5, 1985, to four months imprisonment, three years special parole, five years probation.

_Carl Manar White, Indianola, Okla., conspiracy to defraud the United States and Pittsburg County, Okla., by tax evasion and mail fraud. Sentenced July 27, 1983, to two years in prison.