Envoy: Pollard lucky not to be executed

The American ambassador to Israel said the fact that convicted Pentagon spy Jonathan Pollard has not been executed is a sign of Washington’s clemency. Richard Jones, speaking Monday at an academic conference in Israel, said it is unlikely Pollard will ever be released, The Associated Press reported. Responding to audience questions, Jones said Pollard’s crimes appear especially heinous to many Americans because he was caught spying for a friendly power.”It came out in the trial very clearly, Jonathan Pollard took money for what he did, he sold out his country,” Jones said in comments at Bar-Ilan University. “The fact that he wasn’t executed is the mercy that Jonathan Pollard will receive.”Pollard, a civilian intelligence analyst for the U.S. Navy, sold military secrets to Israel while working at the Pentagon. He was arrested in 1985 and pleaded guilty at his trial. He is serving a life sentence in a U.S. federal prison.