For one non-violent federal offender, slow and steady wins the race

Ralph Hoekstra won his race for justice Monday, slow and steady.

In keeping with his pledge to reform the criminal justice system, President Obama pardoned 78 federal offenders and granted commutations to 153 more. He has now commuted sentences for more than 1150 non-violent offenders, a record for any president.

Hoekstra was one of the lucky ones.

Hoekstra started collecting tortoises in 1975. Over 25 years, his collection grew to more than 40 exotic tortoises at his Southern California home.

“I built pens and insulated houses with access to electricity,” he said in a phone interview.  “It got to be a lot of work.”

In 2002, Hoekstra responded to online an ad for a rare tortoise species that was illegal to buy or sell in the United States. 

“I knew I shouldn’t have done it,” Hoekstra told the Associated Press in 2007. “But at that time, I was interested in the species.” 

The wildlife dealer told Hoekstra the animals could be delivered to his home. But when Hoekstra went to accept the delivery from what he thought was a U.S. postal worker, federal agents raided his home, according to the AP. The letter carrier was a wildlife agent in disguise.

Hoekstra was given a year probation and fined $5000 in 2005.

On Monday, he received a call from the Justice Department informing him that he’d received a presidential pardon.

“With Christmas coming on, I thought I might get a phone call,” said Hoekstra, who applied for clemency in 2013. “I was very pleased.”

While he regrets committing the offense, Hoekstra believes the rare reptiles would have had better lives under his care.

“They were headed to Asia where people eat them. Better to be in America with a hobbyist,” he said. “Trouble is, it’s against the law.”

Hoekstra still owns tortoises, but his collection is much smaller than it used to be. Only three live with him now -  Mae West and two without names.