0001|                          A JOINT MEMORIAL
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0002| IN SUPPORT OF A PRESIDENTIAL COMMUTATION OF THE SENTENCE OF PETER
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0003| MCDONALD OF THE NAVAJO NATION.
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0004| 
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0005|      WHEREAS, Peter McDonald, former chairman of the Navajo nation, is
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0006| now in the fifth year of serving a fourteen-year federal sentence; and 
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0007|      WHEREAS, Mr. McDonald was sentenced pursuant to his convictions
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0008| for instigating a riot, accepting bribes, fraud and racketeering; and
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0009|      WHEREAS, while in prison, Mr. McDonald has suffered a heart
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0010| attack and a broken wrist and due to these problems has been housed at
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0011| the federal medical center at Fort Worth; and 
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0012|      WHEREAS, the people of the Navajo nation have a tradition of
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0013| forgiveness and respect for their leaders and are in agreement that
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0014| Mr. McDonald should be allowed to return to his home in the Arizona
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0015| portion of the Navajo nation; and
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0016|      WHEREAS, the people of the Navajo nation remember that Mr.
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0017| McDonald was a code talker during World War II and that he was an
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0018| electrical engineer by profession before returning home to enter into
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0019| positions of leadership of the Navajo nation; and 
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0020|      WHEREAS, the Navajo nation council, the legislative branch of the
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0021| Navajo nation, has adopted a resolution forgiving Mr. McDonald for his
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0022| crimes; and 
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0023|      WHEREAS, the president of the Navajo nation is in support of
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0024| obtaining an early release for Mr. McDonald; and
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0025|      WHEREAS, the people of the Navajo nation are concerned for his
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0001| health and believe that his absence from his homeland will cause Mr.
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0002| McDonald to wither, causing his health to fail; and
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0003|      WHEREAS, through petitions and letters, Navajo nation members,
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0004| national political figures and many others have requested that the
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0005| president of the United States provide an early release for Mr.
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0006| McDonald;
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0007|      NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
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0008| NEW MEXICO that it express its support for an early release for Peter
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0009| McDonald, former chairman of the Navajo nation; and
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0010|      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the president of the United States is
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0011| hereby requested to commute the sentence of Peter McDonald and the New
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0012| Mexico congressional delegation is hereby requested to support the
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0013| commutation of Peter McDonald's sentence so that he can return home to
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0014| the Navajo nation; and 
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0015|      BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
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0016| transmitted to the president of the United States, the New Mexico
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0017| congressional delegation, the president of the Navajo nation and
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0018| the speaker of the Navajo nation council.            
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