SEATTLE — President Barack Obama has pardoned a Seattle man 35 years after he was locked up for his role in a drug smuggling ring that brought hashish from The Netherlands.
Randy Dyer, 63, spent three years in prison and three decades after his release ministering to Washington inmates. He said Jesus forgave him for his crimes decades ago, but he still choked up when he learned Obama had pardoned him as well, The Seattle Times reported Friday.
"The president represents the United States of America and millions of people, and he is saying, 'We see what you've done with your life and we feel you are worthy of being forgiven,'" Dyer said.
While the pardon does not erase Dyer's criminal record, it recognizes that Dyer has taken responsibility, atoned for his crimes and demonstrated that he has led a responsible, productive life over the past three decades, the newspaper said.
When Dyer was 15, he was arrested by the FBI for stealing a car and driving it to Idaho. He had three federal felonies on his record by the time he got out of high school, and in his early 20s he began bringing kilos of marijuana from Nogales, Mexico, to Seattle, authorities said.
A drug dealer in Mexico, who had a connection in Amsterdam, approached Dyer about a plan to smuggle hashish.
Dyer was convicted in May 1975 of conspiracy to import marijuana (hashish), conspiracy to remove baggage from the custody and control of the U.S. Customs Service, and conveying false information concerning an attempt to damage a civil aircraft.
The president represents the United States of America and millions of people and he is saying, 'We see what you've done with your life and we feel you are worthy of being forgiven,' " Dyer said. "The president of the United States has acknowledged my life is not just chatter."
While the president's pardon does not erase Dyer's criminal record, it recognizes that Dyer has taken responsibility and atoned for his crimes and has demonstrated that he has led a responsible, productive life over the past three decades.
The White House does not comment on pardons or explain why they are granted or denied.
The fact Dyer was in Ballard when he heard news of his pardon could be considered divinely fitting: Long before he started preaching to inmates in jails and prisons across the state, Dyer was "a wannabe gangster" roaming the rough and tumble streets of blue-collar Ballard in the 1960s.
Years ago, Dyer petitioned the state and regained his right to vote. Sometime in the 1990s, he said, his wife Karla broached the subject of a presidential pardon.
The couple began compiling the paperwork needed to apply, "but we were so embarrassed by (President) Clinton that we decided not to send in the paperwork," Karla said, referring to Clinton's decision to pardon 140 people the day before he left office in January 2001, including his half-brother, Roger Clinton.
Then in 2004, they decided to file for the pardon.
More than 100 people signed affidavits on Dyer's behalf, attesting to his character. The FBI interviewed the couple, along with relatives, friends and work associates.
In August 2008, the couple received a letter from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Seattle saying their petition had been approved locally and was being sent to Washington, D.C. They heard back on May 20.
"I think because I'm involved in prison ministry, it will mean something to other people that God has given me this gift from the president of the United States," Dyer said. "Not everybody gets a pardon from the president. He'll be glad he signed it. I'll make him proud.
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