Hare Krishna swami asks governor for pardon
   MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. (UPI) _ A Hare Krishna swami, expressing concern
about West Virginians being cursed for punishing an innocent person,
mailed a request to Gov Arch Moore Monday for a pardon from a murder
conviction.
   "The request is for their benefit," said Thomas Drescher, a
Krishna devotee serving a life sentence at the West Virginia
Penitentiary. "I'd like to remind them of this to give them a chance to
rectify the situation so there won't be a serious curse on their head."
   Drescher, ordained Tirtha Swami during a ceremony in July, was
imprisoned in January for the death of devotee Charles St. Denis.
Drescher is also wanted in California to stand trial for the suspected
murder-for-hire in May 1986 of Steven Bryant, an ex-communicated member
of the Krishnas.
   Drescher said he will accept extradition to California if his
pardon is granted by Moore.
   "The main reason I'm asking for the pardon is so the governor and
the people of West Virginia don't have to suffer any repercussions for
punishing an innocent person," Drescher said.
   He said a pardon would free him of his prison sentence in West
Virginia before going to California and "get that matter cc@!8||d @ "|F|<$@p`Bg~~|$@ `@&|p"|pp@N|B|p @||"|@@@"|@|$p|p#@@N|L~~|$@ `@&|D$@$|F|$p@r||p |@@|p<<@p@N|"|$L@'``||B|@ |$@r| <$@B|$|B|p<<@p| pN|@@ CBdia coverage prejudiced the jury against the defendant and the guilty
verdict may have been affected by the discovery of an unidentified body
at the Krishna community in Marshall County the day before the trial.
   Drescher said an appeal also was filed in the high court last week
seeking to stop his extradition to California.