Before President Obama leaves office at the end of this year, he’ll have to deal with one more issue, the case of which was closed several decades ago. I’m referring to the case of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the most high profile case of the Cold War.

For those who aren’t familiar with the name Rosenberg, let me give you a little history lesson. Back in the 1940s, the FBI arrested two American citizens and accused them of being Soviet spies. The individuals in question were Julius Rosenberg and his wife Ethel. Both were members of the communist party as well as being outspoken about their beliefs, which did put them somewhat in the government’s crosshairs to start with. However, in truth neither of them were actually breaking any law by preaching their political opinions. Rather, the crime that landed them in the public spotlight was the act of espionage.

Julius and Ethel were accused of leading a Soviet spy ring as well as selling secrets that gave the USSR the atomic bomb. At the time, the Rosenbergs had a lot of sympathy from the public, thinking that the government was trying to suppress their right of free speech. People detested the arrest and their outcry only got louder when news of the death penalty was carried down. On June 19, 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were killed via electric chair, leaving behind their two children, Michael and Robert, who were quickly adopted by supporters of their parents’ innocence.

Later, after growing up, the children though now adults and living under the name Meeropol, tried to clear their parents’ names. Sadly for them, it didn’t turn out so well. While it’s true that their mother was in fact not a spy, the accusations to their father weren’t falsified. Julius Rosenberg actually had been a Soviet spy, and actually did lead a spy ring. Unsurprisingly, this took some of the wind out of the sails of Michael and Robert.

It was only until recently that they tried to push forth the case again, this time toward President Obama, and this time not advocating for the pardoning of both their mother and father. Instead, they want a pardon for only their mother, who based on her crimes, should not have gone to the electric chair. They made their plea to the Whitehouse a few times before appearing on Sixty Minutes, and while I can understand their position and sympathize with them, I also don’t think Obama should pardon Ethel Rosenberg.

Now I know that makes me seem like a villain of sorts. “How can you condone the death of an innocent woman?” you might ask. Well, she wasn’t innocent, not by a long shot. She knew exactly what her husband was doing and when questioned by the FBI under oath she lied. This alone is a federal offense and thus a crime. Also, she actively tried to assist Julius with his recruitment of moles and other spies from within the United States, and since the Soviet Union was our enemy at the time, she was aiding a criminal, another crime. True, she didn’t have a code name from the Kremlin and she wasn’t technically under the jurisdiction of the USSR, but she was still a felon and should have been arrested.

However, don’t mistake my words. Just because I don’t think she should be pardoned, does not mean I think she should have been killed. Her crimes were not worthy of an execution and if Obama can issue some sort of apology, I readily believe that he should. The only reason for her sentencing was that prosecutors thought it would prompt Julius to give up information. However, it clearly didn’t work. She was collateral damage and should have never been handed down the ruling she was given. I’ll admit, it is a shame how the case turned out and admittedly it’s not a high point in our judicial history, but does that make it right to pardon her? No, she was a criminal and she was intentionally acting against the United States. Pardoning her would make her previous crimes null and void, when in fact Ethel Rosenberg still broke the law.

To summarize, she should not be pardoned, even if the death penalty was too drastic. I’ll agree that her crimes were not worthy of her life, but at the same time it does mean she is innocent. Rather than a pardon, I hope that the Whitehouse instead gives an apology. Even if the crimes are old and the case is long since closed, it still wouldn’t be right to pardon her for what she did.