Apparently, I haven't sent a message to these groups since 2001. Let
me bring you up to date.

In the fall of 2002, I made an application for clemency with the
then-Oregon-governor, and was denied. This was not entire surprising, since
the GOP-party governor had granted no clemencies during his entire term. I
made no announcement about this, at first because I didn't want to tip my
hand, and then because I was sad at the result.

In the next few weeks, I'll be applying for clemency again, with a Democratic
governor who has already granted a few pardons. I have a number of letters of
support and personal references, but if I missed anyone and you can act fast,
please contact Marc Sussman at (503)221-0520 within the next few days.

It takes about $1500 to apply for clemency, between filing fees and legal
fees. I'm not above accepting donations to my paypal account
(merlyn@...) to help with the situation. If you believe in me, I
could use the help.

However, if you are merely inclined to "think happy thoughts", or whatever
works for you to ensure a positive outcome, I could sure use that right now as
well. In my view, every little bit helps.

It's clear to me, having presented my "Just another Convicted Perl Hacker"
talk at conferences and user groups all over the world, that I did what wasn't
wanted. It's also clear that ORS 164.377 makes what I did illegal. Had I
known those things ahead of time, I wouldn't have done what I did, because it
was never my intention to harm anyone.

It's also clear to me, having been under the influence of the court system for
roughly 13 years now, that I've suffered, substantially, in money, time, and
opportunities lost. I'm hoping that with clemency, I can resume a productive
life and achieve even greater things, unburdened by travel restrictions,
financial obligations, and work opportunity reductions.

In short, I screwed up, and I paid the price. I hope the Governor realizes
this, and completes my punishment phase: 13 years of pain for 15 minutes of
work.

I'm inclined to shut these mailing lists down after this run for clemency.
Either this works, and we're done discussing, or it doesn't work, and it'll be
at least 4 or 8 years before I try again. Let me know what you think.

To my supporters over the years: thank you for standing by me in my darkest
times.

To my critics: thank you for keeping me honest.

--
Randal L. Schwartz - Stonehenge Consulting Services, Inc. - +1 503 777 0095
<merlyn@...> <URL:http://www.stonehenge.com/merlyn/>
Perl/Unix/security consulting, Technical writing, Comedy, etc. etc.
See PerlTraining.Stonehenge.com for onsite and open-enrollment Perl training!