Over 30,000 signatures are still needed by February 1 for a White House petition to make it through to the Obama administration in asking for a presidential pardon of U.S. Army Lieutenant Clint Lorance, 28, who is currently serving a 20 year sentence in Leavenworth prison for the murder of two men in Afghanistan during battle in 2012.

Via his blog, retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Allen West is asking his readers to sign the petition in support of someone he calls "a young warrior." The petition reads:

Leading his second patrol through a minefield in Afghanistan in late July 2012, twenty-eight year old Clint Lorance ordered fire upon three men speeding toward his soldiers on a motorcycle, killing two and wounding a third. He is now serving twenty years for murder in Leavenworth prison for trying to protect his soldiers. The president has the chance to tell the military and our enemies that when we send our young sons and daughters into harm's way we do not turn against them. The president has this chance to help the country begin to heal the wounds caused by this long war, just as President Lincoln used his powers to pardon soldiers in the Civil War, to try to heal the wounds.

According to Army Times, the controversial case has has stirred supporters as well as challengers. While many say he was protecting his troops, others who said they served in Lorance's platoon called him "overly zealous" and criticized his actions that day.

From Army Times:

On July 2, 2012, Lorance, who had just taken over as a platoon leader, and his soldiers were on a foot patrol alongside Afghan soldiers when three men on a motorcycle approached the patrol, according to news reports and a website set up in Lorance's defense.

Prosecutors said Lorance violated the military's rules of engagement when he ordered his soldiers to shoot the men on the motorcycle. Two of the men were killed and the third ran away.

Lorance was convicted of two counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. The jury found him not guilty of making a false official statement.

Lorance's attorney said that his client never fired his weapon that day and didn't receive a fair trial. It is stated in West's blog that the Army withheld evidence that would have shown the terrorist ties of the three Afghani men.

West's frustration bubbles over in bringing light to the failures in this case while other members of the military, such as disgraced Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair, are offered a plea deal even after being charged with forcible sodomy against a subordinate female officer. Or deserter Bowe Bergdahl, who stands to possibly receive $350,000 if found to have been a prisoner of war. And what about President Obama, who continues releasing known terrorists back into the battlefields of Afghanistan?

West writes:

[H]ere is what disturbs me. We are releasing Islamic terrorists from GITMO and yet we are holding a young American officer in prison for killing the enemy. And what is frightening and frankly disturbing, the Army withheld evidence in the court-martial of 1LT Lorance because the Army definitively knew about the terrorist actions of several of the Afghans involved.

"What is happening in the U.S Army when we lock away Clint Lorance for 20 years while we dither and hide the whereabouts of deserter Bowe Bergdahl? And what a blatant slap in the face to Clint, that Bergdahl may end up with some $350,000 while Clint sits in the same facility as Nidal Hasan. Where is the outrage from the American people and our elected representatives?

I hear nothing but crickets from all these wannabe Commanders-in-Chief. Well, not a one will get my support if they don’t make a stand right now for this young American.

I love the U.S. Army but I detest what it’s becoming — a place where a disgraced general evades prison while a young warrior is locked up.

And where exactly is Bowe Bergdahl and that report, Secretary McHugh?