Convicted spy Jonathan Pollard's heart was in the right place, so cut him some slack, Jon Voight says.
The actor on Monday asked President Clinton to free Pollard, an American Jew serving a life sentence for spying for Israel.Voight reasoned the sentence was unfair because Pollard committed espionage to "defend the Jewish homeland."
"There seem to be so many government officials who can't find it in their hearts and souls to admit that the crime itself was not consummated for greed as they implied or to try to bring any harm to America, as they also implied," Voight said at a news conference.
Pollard told authorities that he spied to help Israel protect itself from hostile Arab neighbors. He pleaded guilty in 1986.
Voight, the star of "Coming Home" and "Midnight Cowboy," was accompanied by Pollard's father, Morris.
The actor said he was speaking out as a concerned citizen.