Ignominious Ex-Rutherford Sheriff Wants Presidential Pardon

MONTGOMERY, AL -- Despite pleading guilty, being halfway through his sentence and slated for early release from one of the cushier outposts of the federal corrections system, disgraced former Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold says he is a "political prisoner" and is appealing to the president for clemency.

In an interview with NewsChannel 5, Arnold, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud and extortion for his role in an illegal e-cigarette scheme at the Rutherford County jail and was sentenced to four years in federal prison, says he was inspired to seek a pardon because President Donald Trump granted clemency to Maricopa County, Ariz. sheriff Joe Arpaio.

"Yeah, that gave me hope on the whole situation. That's where I started thinking about it," Arnold told the station from a federal prison camp outside Maxwell Air Force Base near Montgomery, Ala.

Arnold - who, again, pleaded guilty - insists he did nothing wrong and that the investigation into the vape scheme was spearheaded by his political opponents.

"Mr. President. PLEASE -- look into my case. I believe you will find I did not do anything illegal ... I hope you will see, believe, and agree that I am not the villain of this story, but a victim ... who deserves the head-start on getting his life back ... Please pardon me," Arnold wrote Trump, in part.

(Read pages 1, 2, 3 and 4 of his letter at WTVF's website)

Legal experts told NewsChannel 5 Arnold's odds are long, in part because the president receives so many such requests and the ex-sheriff - who pleaded guilty - is relatively close to release.

Under Justice Department guidelines, pardons can be requested after a convict has been free for five years and if no other methods of judicial relief are available. Arnold, of course, is still in prison and, though he hasn't seen fit to do so, he has not appealed his sentence, though such an appeal would be tough sledding since, once again, Arnold pleaded guilty.

Of course, those Justice Department guidelines are just that, as the Constitution grants absolute pardon authority to the president and Trump - and many of his predecessors - has ignored those guidelines before. In fact, Gerald Ford famously pardoned Richard Nixon before Nixon could even be indicted.

Subscribe to La Vergne-Smyrna Patch for more local news and real-time alerts

Photo via Bureau of Prisons