As is stated I think at least twice in the letter, the preference, strongly, as communicated both in the letter, by the President and by membersof this administration to the government was that this individual continue to serve thesentence -- his sentence where he was.
The judge accepted material gain may not have been the principal motivating factor and that thesentence would be damaging to other membersof his family.
Mr Sankoh is appealing a death sentence: 24 of his former associates members ofthe rebel junta that ran the country for ten months until being ousted by Nigerian troops in March 1998 were crudely executed in October.