_.jpg "Sen. Alicia 'Chucky' Hansen")
Gov. John deJongh Jr. on Wednesday pardoned Sen. Alicia "Chucky" Hansen for her 2009 conviction on charges of failing to file tax returns, opening the door for the senator to appear on the general election ballot in November.
Acknowledging that the decision will be controversial, deJongh said ultimately it will be the voters of St. Croix who judge Hansen.
"I am fully aware that this is a controversial decision that will provoke much emotion and discussion. However, after much soul searching, I have concluded that the best decision I can make is the one I have made because I know that that decision will be immediately put to the test of ratification by the electorate of St. Croix," the governor said.
Hansen was convicted in 2009 of three counts of willful failure to file tax returns. Voters on St. Croix returned her to the Senate in 2011.
The Organic Act of 1954 forbids anyone on parole or probation for a felony or for a conviction of "a crime of moral turpitude" from exercising the right to vote or run for office. All the court and administrative hearings on Hansen’s eligibility have hinged upon whether Hansen’s convictions amounted to crimes of moral turpitude. The laws she was convicted of breaking do not say "turpitude."
This year’s challenge was the third to Hansen’s candidacy since her conviction. In 2011 the St. Croix Board of Elections determined Hansen to be eligible. In 2012 the V.I. Action Group unsuccessfully again sought to have her declared ineligible, but the V.I. supervisor of elections and V.I. Superior Court both ruled in Hansen’s favor, citing similar reasons and the absence of any legal authority saying her convictions amounted specifically to "moral turpitude."
This spring Adelbert Bryan, chairman of the St. Croix District Board of Elections and a former senator, asked Supervisor of Elections Caroline Fawkes to review Hansen’s nomination papers for this fall’s senatorial election. Fawkes determined Hansen was qualified. Bryan petitioned Superior Court, saying Fawkes erred because her three misdemeanor convictions constitute "crimes involving moral turpitude."
Friday the V.I. Supreme Court, in an opinion written by Chief Justice Rhys S. Hodge, ruled that her misdemeanor convictions constituted moral turpitude and ordered her name removed from the ballot. Her attorney immediately applied for relief to the governor, asking for a pardon.
After consulting with Attorney General Vincent Frazer, the governor on Wednesday issued the pardon.
"In so doing, I am not questioning the past illegal acts taken by the senator to which she has pled guilty. Nor am I questioning the fact that these crimes have been definitively defined by the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands as crimes of moral turpitude. Those determinations have been made," deJongh wrote in a statement issued by Government House to announce the pardon.
"However, I am not comfortable with an outcome that denies the voters of St. Croix an opportunity to decide again for themselves what they have twice before decided during the elections for the 29th and 30th Legislatures. It was publicly known at the time of those elections that the Senator had been convicted of these crimes. It was also known that she had completed her sentence and fulfilled the obligations that followed from her conviction and sentencing. Moreover, her candidacy was challenged in each of those election cycles and the election system qualified her and placed her name on the ballot for each of those two elections. She was elected in both."
DeJongh noted that the high court decision would disqualify her from service in the 31st Legislature unless she is pardoned.
"And I shall grant it because I believe that the wrong that she committed stands, as it has stood, as a mark against her and her record." DeJongh said it was proper "for those who elected Hansen to public office, knowing the facts of her conviction, to decide whether she should serve again."
"They will have an opportunity in November to decide whether anything has changed and it is my view that the voters should make the decision with respect to her continued service," deJongh said.
Yes sir, let the St. Croix people decide….since they seem to love their criminals, I am sure she will be re-elected.
Yes sir, let the St. Croix people decide….since they seem to love their criminals, I am sure she will be re-elected.
Absolutely repulsive.There is no lesser man in the Virgin Islands today. The injustice that he has wrought upon the People of the Virgin Islands is unconscionable and quite possibly illegal, like so many other things he has done to the People. What is that old saying about thieves and liars, they roll in filth, hide in stench and eventually get what’s coming to them. I personally believe that what this rotten excuse for a governor needs is about 25 years in federal prison to contemplate the myriad wrongs he and his cohorts have and continue to wreak upon the islands.
Look, it’s really basic. When he stole the taxpayers funds to fix up his own private home, he was himself expressing his own moral turpitude.
And this is your Virgin Islands Democratic Party hard at work. EVERY ONE of the VI Democrats should be totally embarrassed and ashamed to support this rotten party. And don’t tell me that 35% of the party have stolen it. Where is the spine of the other 65%????
Well, my brothers and cousins…..you got what you voted for. Feeling good about your last votes? Maybe this time you will think more about ALL the people and not just your selfish selves. It’s doubtful though. The entire VI Democratic party has been hijacked by liars, cheaters and thieves.
And life goes on. La-de-da……..
I am truly in shock but utimately not surprised. I find it completely reprehensible that Gov. DeJongh has pardoned this woman for her “willfully committed crimes” after the supreme court decision. Birds of a feather, flock together, after all.
I have completely lost any respect I ever had for him during the course of his tenure and continue to be disgusted by her.
What is wrong with Crucian people that they continue to elect this woman who went out of her way to cheat and defraud them and the rest of us?
This is quite the death knell for honesty, ethical standards, and integrity.
We are governed by crooks and thieves in a little better than a 3rd world society where our leaders all have their hands in someone elses pocket and have no standards of decency.
“Lawmakers should not be Law breakers.”
What better way to formally protest this crazy decision then for all residents to boycott filing taxes on April 15 and replace the tax return with a letter of protest. This government is already living paycheck to paycheck, actually selling itself out to borrow enough to get to the next paycheck, that the loss of revenue from taxes will bring it to its knees and perhaps force action. It is sad that when you think it cannot get worse, it goes in yet another downward spiral. I shudder at the thought of the next spiral!
“A society of sheep must in time beget a government of wolves.”
— Bertrand de Jouvenel
This is America and America is the home of second chances. That is what makes America great! Nobody gets ostracized permanently. THE GOVERNOR GOT IT RIGHT! Let the people decide, the majority rule. If you don’t feel that the majority vote should be the principal determining factor in our democracy, then you are advocating democracy by dictatorship. ‘Your way’ only works in Burger King not in the VI. We prefer johnny cakes and fried fish to your salty whoppers.
What I find amazing is the fact that certain people don’t think she should be able to run. I know plenty of folks that break the law everyday and haven’t gotten caught, whether it be smoking weed, driving under the influence, etc. Then we have all those folks that do everything they can to keep from paying their fair share of taxes, sending their money offshore, etc. The first without sin should cast the first stone. Like the Governor said, let the people decide.
Power to the People!
You can keep using all those labels you want, but Republicans and Democrats are the same. Look at the individual and drop the stupid, unevolved labels, and then we might actually be able to get something accomplished. One day we will all wake up and realize that people weren’t meant to be governed by the select few, and therein your problem lies.
caribbeantongue
The highest Supreme Court is the one that the Creator rules and the people are the jurors!
As a former resident of the USVI in the mid-1980s I am amazed to see the same circus act buffoons running the Territory into the ground. If you continue to elect the same people why should you expect anything to change?
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.” –Rita Mae Brown
Jesus forgave his betrayer. Why must your heart be so cold? The people also elected a person that killed his own son to the BOE. This cold-blooded killer did not even go to trial for murder. The same former senator willfully destroyed a reporter’s camera during a Senate session. Did he commit crimes of moral turpitude and went unpunished?
He/you nailed it Alana!!!
“Absolute truth, can only be that”
And so, the Virgin Islands once again proves its ability to overcome obstacles (like convictions in the FEDERAL COURT) and Johnny pardons Chucky. The worm turns and the garbage continues. I suppose you could shoot your own kid in the back and ultimately get away with it. Makes you wonder what she has on DeJ. All the while Donna is being “installed” into the Governorship.
If the people did not want Hansen then they would not vote for her. The people will decide whether she sits in the Legislature and not angry Bert Bryan.
Really? Its not just the voters on STX who are affected by Chuckie Hansen being pardoned of her crimes in order to gain the right to be a Senator in the U.S. Virgin Islands again. Its all of we. Any laws she helps draft, votes on, etc effects all of us: not just the voters on STX. Our Governor DeJongh, just destroyed what little justice, honor, and sense of morality our V.I. Gov’t has ever had, which BTW is not very much to begin with. If you break the law against the people of the V.I. you should be immediately: terminated, with no pension, no benefits, no pardons, no get out of jail free card, and def no chance of ever being hired to work for the V.I. Gov’t again. Another terrible example is Marc Biggs was re-hired to manage WTJX on STX after a felony bribery/corruption convictions. I don’t usually agree with Bert Bryan, he is another bad example of political/judicial leniency. But, Bert is right: “Lawmakers should not be lawbreakers”.
If moral turpitude was taken seriously, then Bush would not have been re-elected. He lied to the American people, ran our economy into the ground, and is responsible for the Iraq you see today. When you lie at that level, many many innocent people die. Compared to Bush, Chucky is a great patriot to democracy.
The people of STX are so stupid that they will reelect Chunkie because she throws the best pre- election barbeque. I miss living on STX, but I don’t miss the crooked politics and politicians.
You’re still blaming Bush, LOL! “He lied to the American people, ran our economy into the ground, and is responsible for the Iraq you see today.” This is absolutely not true. Total delusion. What is happening in Iraq today is the result of the biggest phony to ever con the American voter, the lying Mr. Dithers, by leaving Iraq with NO forces there to monitor the country and keep it stable. The liar in the White House has squandered all the blood and treasure it took to stabilize Iraq – wasted by phony, a neighborhood organizer who had no business trying to be a leader of the nation. Here’s this faker’s legacy:
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/barack-obama/statements/byruling/false/
cgtstx,
When did you arrive on earth? White people had no plans of putting a black man in office, no plans what so ever. Black people have come a long way but not that far. Obama didnt win because he was so good, he won because Bush was so bad. Shock and Awe was a Bush program, weapons of mass destruction was a Bush lie, and thousands of innocent children were massacred. That was Bush’s definition of acceptable collateral damage. They almost knocked out your hero with a flying shoe. How was Pluto?
Ha, your fried fish has CIGUATERA. Enjoy the poison.
The lack of education in our community is vehemently evident with the support of the criminal element and the tolerance of those who rally behind them. The fundamental tenant seems to be, “don’t worry about your actions, you can’t possibly be held responsible or accountable.” If our leaders cannot be held responsible for their actions, why should we? If we all intentionally fail to file our taxes in 2014 and beyond, will we all get pardoned? I think not. Hansen supporters remind me of domestic violence victims who vigorously defend their attacker despite being bruised, bloodied, beaten and bullied repeatedly. It’s frightening to think these same people want the ability to elect national leaders with less scruples and morals than our local leaders. A friend of mine said it best, “If all of our elected officials climbed into a boat and left the VI for good, exactly what would change?” I can’t think of a thing… Governor, I once respected you and thought you were a descent and relatively intelligent leader. You’ve proven me wrong.
The Organizer won because he was a black man. (half white I might add which seems to be ignored but so be it) And he won with a majority of the white people voting for him and believing his lies which doesn’t seem to matter to people like you. Six years into this failure’s presidency and you’re still blaming Bush. Ludicrous. The world is laughing at this faker and you just can’t see through your own prejudice. It’s still Bush’s fault. If you can’t/won’t see the truth then there’s nothing more that I can say to you. You have access to the internet. You can find the truth but I have found that truth to most liberals is like a crucifix thrown into the face of a Vampire: Intolerable. (BTW, so typical of you to inject race into the issue. Couldn’t be that he is just incompetent, could, it? Ok,ok, only his white half is incompetent. Better?)
Here’s what the brilliant Thomas Sowell had to say about Mr. Dithers:
http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2013/08/27/a-truly-great-phony-n1673702/page/full
I agree with the earlier comment that a politician is a politician and they’re all in it for personal gain. You’re doing the same thing as the poster you’re complaining about. Bush did lie and Obama, while I don’t think he’s lying about much, is wholly indecisive. How was George Bush qualified as President any more than Obama? He wasn’t. He was also the administration that removed Tom Moore from his judgeship to install one who certain political persons in the V.I. recommended. Why don’t you post GWB’s legacy?
It is unfortunate that the Governor has pardoned this criminal. I can’t see how we could legitimately enforce the tax laws and arrest some individuals for non-filing, and then turn around and offer a different standard to a politician. It is clear & simple–she broke the law by not filing and therefore should not be allowed to run. Very unfortunate for Virgin Islands! Governor has made a terrible mistake!
It is unfortunate that the Governor has pardoned this criminal. I can’t see how we could legitimately enforce the tax laws and arrest some individuals for non-filing, and then turn around and offer a different standard to a politician. It is clear & simple–she broke the law by not filing and therefore should not be allowed to run. Very unfortunate for Virgin Islands! Governor has made a terrible mistake!
It is unfortunate that the Governor has pardoned this criminal. I can’t see how we could legitimately enforce the tax laws and arrest some individuals for non-filing, and then turn around and offer a different standard to a politician. It is clear & simple–she broke the law by not filing and therefore should not be allowed to run. Very unfortunate for Virgin Islands! Governor has made a terrible mistake!
Then everyone convicted of similar crimes should be pardoned. “This is America.” It is NOT. It is a corrupt joke. It is preferential treatment of a convict because of perceived societal status. What kills me is Bert is the one that started this melee when all along I’ve been stickin’ dem two in de same pot.
This would not be the first time a governor pardons a convict. Every person that applies for pardon is not automatically granted one.The governor did the right thing because Sen. Hansen was already pardoned by the St. Croix voters that elected her in two previous elections. They gave her a second chance to prove that atonement was made for the violation of the law. Besides restoration of civil rights, the stigma of being a criminal is removed. No judge can invalidate the pardon. She must be placed on the ballot! If this does not happen, she can file a lawsuit.Justice prevails when malice is removed from the heart. We, the supporters, will ensure civil liberties for Chucky and ourselves.
Local, you’re kidding right? Bush was the Governor of Texas with 13th largest economy in the world at the time. Dithers was a neighborhood organizer. Duh? Listen, if you wanna get into that “Bush lied people died” mantra, you should know that most of the world at that time thought that Sadam had WMDs. And I should say that I was not a fan of going into Iraq. I felt that we should have done our business in Afghanistan and gotten out when done. But to compare the disaster which is this administration with the Bush years is simply not dealing in reality. Seriously not. And when I say that Mr. Dithers lies it is because he is a serial liar who will say anything about anything for political gain or self gain. Did you not hear any of the Obamacare blatant bold faced lies? The Economy? No not Bush’s fault. This bird has been in the WH for six years and the economy has NOT gotten better. What was the price of gas when he took office? 1.83 average. It’s been around 3.50 ever since. And food prices have gone through the roof. And Jobs? None. He’s never run a lemon aid stand, and I don’t expect and he has proven that he doesn’t know how to run a national economy. Please there’s just too much to explain and all I can say is that you have the net, please do your research.
–
http://www.politifact.com/personalities/barack-obama/statements/byruling/false/
–
http://townhall.com/columnists/thomassowell/2013/08/27/a-truly-great-phony-n1673702/page/full
–
As far as Chucky Hansen goes, her fate should be left to the voters and not at the hands of an angry racist like Bert-moral turpitude I shot my son- Bryan. Have a nice day.