
Oh no he didn't! Even though this deals with the Mississippi justice system, any
Boss Hog reference will be posted here (you rarely hear an Uncle Jesse reference...). Plus, there's nothing like a good fight between two branches of government. From
CNN:
Mississippi's attorney general chastised former Republican Gov. Haley
Barbour after a judge issued a temporary injunction forbidding the
release of any more prisoners Barbour pardoned or gave clemency to
before leaving office this week.
State Attorney General Jim Hood said Barbour violated the state's
constitution because the pardon requests for many inmates were not
published 30 days before they were granted, as required.
Mississippi is one of the few states that requires advance notice.
***
Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green issued the injunction
Wednesday, saying it appeared some pardons, including those for four
murderers, did not meet the 30-day requirement. Any inmates released in
the future must meet the standard, Green ruled.
On his way out the door, the governor approved full pardons for
nearly 200 people, including 14 convicted murderers, according to
documents the Mississippi secretary of state's office released Tuesday.
The four murderers who received full pardons last week -- David
Gatlin, Joseph Ozment, Charles Hooker and Anthony McCray -- were cited
in Green's order.
They were all serving life sentences and worked as inmate trusties at
the governor's mansion, said Suzanne Singletary, spokeswoman for the
Mississippi Department of Corrections. Trusties are inmates who can
receive additional rights through good behavior.
Hood told "AC360" that it's possible that those who didn't meet the
30-day requirement may have to return to prison and complete their
sentences.
Barbour said Wednesday that some people misunderstand the clemency
process and believe that most of the individuals were still jailed.
"Approximately 90 percent of these individuals were no longer in
custody, and a majority of them had been out for years," he said in a
statement.
"The pardons were intended to allow them to find gainful employment or
acquire professional licenses as well as hunt and vote. My decision
about clemency was based upon the recommendation of the Parole Board in
more than 90 percent of the cases," Barbour wrote. "The 26 people
released from custody due to clemency is just slightly more than
one-tenth of 1 percent of those incarcerated."
Sounds like Barbour was well-intentioned. The clemency process was traditionally a check on prosecutors and was used as a way for the government to show mercy, a quality we hear discussed all the time but that is rarely practiced. Unfortunately, politics have really gutted the process and it's rarely used anymore. And then when it is, like in this case, everyone gets nuts and starts referencing
Dukes of Hazzard.
4 comments:
Haley Barbour is the sleaziest man in politics. He got something out of ever one of those pardons, but that will never see the light of day.
So, unchecked executive authority is bad until it's good?
well intentioned?? call me a crazy right wing nut but people who kill deserve life sentences
I think well intentioned refers to the people who had already been out for years and were trying to restore their rights. (not the killers)
Many people who have served their sentences, and fulfilled the obligations 'we' imposed on them as punishment, continue to have problems years and years down the road.
They served their debt to society, as it were, but are often prevented from jobs, housing, etc because their records show things years and years prior.
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