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Ridgerunner
Guest
Without having any of the facts upon which it was based, one would.
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ringil
Guest
From the article:
Since the conservative governor took office in 2004, 222 people were granted clemency for a wide variety of crimes. Those who have been granted full pardons include shoplifters, rapists, burglars and embezzlers.
There were also a number who were found guilty of either manslaughter or homicide, who were given unconditional pardons. According to the documents, others were given conditional suspensions of sentences based on medical conditions.
Barbour’s spokeswoman declined Tuesday to comment on the pardons, which sparked outrage among victims’ families.
Since the conservative governor took office in 2004, 222 people were granted clemency for a wide variety of crimes. Those who have been granted full pardons include shoplifters, rapists, burglars and embezzlers.
There were also a number who were found guilty of either manslaughter or homicide, who were given unconditional pardons. According to the documents, others were given conditional suspensions of sentences based on medical conditions.
Barbour’s spokeswoman declined Tuesday to comment on the pardons, which sparked outrage among victims’ families.
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Tigg
Guest
Apparently one of the additional rights obtained thru “good” behavior is pardon for a heinous crime! Interesting that this is a Republican governor. You would think one of the first things he’d want to do as a politician, is make a statement justifying his actions.
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SamH
Guest
Until more details emerge I have doubts about the accuracy of this story.
To be honest it is too “good” of story to NOT have victims’ families and friends voicing their concerns and being given air time. The fact that CNN didn’t have any of that this morning when giving their version makes this seem like a Herman Cain type of charge.
To be honest it is too “good” of story to NOT have victims’ families and friends voicing their concerns and being given air time. The fact that CNN didn’t have any of that this morning when giving their version makes this seem like a Herman Cain type of charge.
I have never heard of convicted killers serving life sentences being given trustee jobs at the governor’s mansion in any state. In most cases men serving life sentences are never allowed outside the prison walls for obvious reasons.The four murderers who received full pardons last week – Gatlin, Joseph Ozment, Charles Hooker and Anthony McCray – 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.
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ringil
Guest
We’ll see, maybe your right.Until more details emerge I have doubts about the accuracy of this story.
To be honest it is too “good” of story to NOT have victims’ families and friends voicing their concerns and being given air time. The fact that CNN didn’t have any of that this morning when giving their version makes this seem like a Herman Cain type of charge.
I have never heard of convicted killers serving life sentences being given trustee jobs at the governor’s mansion in any state. In most cases men serving life sentences are never allowed outside the prison walls for obvious reasons.
I do question if you would be taking this cautionary stance if the Governor were a Democrat.
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SamH
Guest
Actually I would. I watched this story this morning and questioned it as it was airing before I ever heard who the governor was. While many have abused the ability to pardon (Huckabee for one) the details to this are just too bizarre. Who in their right mind puts a murderer serving a life sentence in the governor’s mansion? Have you ever seen the security that sounds just the transport of such a prisoner?We’ll see, maybe your right.
I do question if you would be taking this cautionary stance if the Governor were a Democrat.
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ringil
Guest
It sounds weird. I’ll give you that. I guess time will tell.Actually I would. I watched this story this morning and questioned it as it was airing before I ever heard who the governor was. While many have abused the ability to pardon (Huckabee for one) the details to this are just too bizarre. Who in their right mind puts a murderer serving a life sentence in the governor’s mansion? Have you ever seen the security that sounds just the transport of such a prisoner?
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estesbob
Guest
Me too.
Mary_Gail_36
New member
foxnews.com/politics/2012/01/11/mississippi-judge-blocks-release-21-inmates-given-pardons-by-governor-barbour/
An update:
An update:
Mississippi judge Wednesday evening issued a temporary injunction forbidding the release of any more prisoners pardoned or given clemency by outgoing Gov. Haley Barbour, whose actions created an uproar.
The pardons include four convicted murderers and a convicted armed robber who were released Sunday. The five now must contact prison officials on a daily basis as their fate is adjudicated.
The pardons are “a slap in the face to everyone in law enforcement and Gov. Barbour should be ashamed,” said state Attorney General Jim Hood.
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Dale_M
Guest
I am a bit wary about the story, too. Barbour is a Republican, and the Attorney General is a Democrat. I sense some political haymaking here.Until more details emerge I have doubts about the accuracy of this story.
To be honest it is too “good” of story to NOT have victims’ families and friends voicing their concerns and being given air time.
According to the CNN article, the four men who had been convicted of murder were trusties, given pass to leave the prison, and had worked at the governor’s mansion. This suggests that the men are not dangerous and perhaps that the governor had personally met them.
I am not sure of the Attorney General’s political ambitions. He has already been elected to his current position three times. But stirring up a scare over these pardons seems likely to be politically beneficial to him.
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Bob_Crowley
Guest
This is an American issue, and as an Australian it’s not my business. Of course we make mistakes from time to time. However the fact is that they’ve probably served their time, and I’ve noticed that people with a criminal record are penalised twice - both in prison, and after prison.
I also notice that Governor Barbour had some qualifying statements to make. I get the impression the DA (as I think you call them) might be playing a political game. Alternately he’s just going the motions as a DA, who is publicly expected to take a tough line.
Our legal system is different, and our state governors have no ability to grant mass pardons as far as I’m aware. The most they could do is argue the case to an independent parole board, if they thought a person was worth the trouble.
I drove a cab part time for a few years, and the bloke I drove for had been in prison for 15 years all told. After release he found it very hard to get a job, even though he’d become a genuine Christian while still in prison. Eventually a local state member wrote and suggested he should be given a chance to work in an industry. He was given the chance and has proven himself. But if it hadn’t been for the politician’s letter, he might still have been struggling to find employment.
He did tell me once I had no idea how frustrating it was for someone in his position to be unable to do anything about restoring the damage he’d done to the people for which he was sent to prison. And I would think any genuinely repentant ex-prisoner would carry that burden.
One of the most active and effective churches and charities in our city has a pastor who is a former inmate. He does a brilliant job reaching out to the marginalised.
There’s a place for mercy as well as punishment. One would have thought that was part of the Christian creed.
I also notice that Governor Barbour had some qualifying statements to make. I get the impression the DA (as I think you call them) might be playing a political game. Alternately he’s just going the motions as a DA, who is publicly expected to take a tough line.
Our legal system is different, and our state governors have no ability to grant mass pardons as far as I’m aware. The most they could do is argue the case to an independent parole board, if they thought a person was worth the trouble.
I drove a cab part time for a few years, and the bloke I drove for had been in prison for 15 years all told. After release he found it very hard to get a job, even though he’d become a genuine Christian while still in prison. Eventually a local state member wrote and suggested he should be given a chance to work in an industry. He was given the chance and has proven himself. But if it hadn’t been for the politician’s letter, he might still have been struggling to find employment.
He did tell me once I had no idea how frustrating it was for someone in his position to be unable to do anything about restoring the damage he’d done to the people for which he was sent to prison. And I would think any genuinely repentant ex-prisoner would carry that burden.
One of the most active and effective churches and charities in our city has a pastor who is a former inmate. He does a brilliant job reaching out to the marginalised.
There’s a place for mercy as well as punishment. One would have thought that was part of the Christian creed.
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.”
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agnes_therese
Guest
According to an interview with the AG on TV last night, there are some legal requirements that have to be met for these pardons – notification to victims/families, publication of the pardon request – that were not met. Obviously the judge agreed.I am a bit wary about the story, too. Barbour is a Republican, and the Attorney General is a Democrat. I sense some political haymaking here.
According to the CNN article, the four men who had been convicted of murder were trusties, given pass to leave the prison, and had worked at the governor’s mansion. This suggests that the men are not dangerous and perhaps that the governor had personally met them.
I am not sure of the Attorney General’s political ambitions. He has already been elected to his current position three times. But stirring up a scare over these pardons seems likely to be politically beneficial to him.
If Barbour were a Democrat and the AG a Republican, would you still call enforcing the law “political haymaking?”
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Dale_M
Guest
Yes, I would.If Barbour were a Democrat and the AG a Republican, would you still call enforcing the law “political haymaking?”
I don’t fault the judge for stopping the pardons to make sure that the 30 day advance notification was met. But when the Attorney General says, on national television, things like: “He’s tried to rule the state like Boss Hogg and he didn’t think the law applied to him,” I would say the AG is trying to make political hay.
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DaveBj
Guest
HLN reported this morning that some of those who are supposed to be reporting in every day have gone completely off the radar. Uh-oh!
To be fair, most of the pardons that Barbour issued were for people who had already finished their sentences and were out of prison. However, to pardon four lifers . . . uff-da!
To be fair, most of the pardons that Barbour issued were for people who had already finished their sentences and were out of prison. However, to pardon four lifers . . . uff-da!
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seekerz
Guest
I’m not sure I understand why these particular people qualified to have their records wiped clean. And as for the four who worked in the governor’s mansion, the victims’ families have been on TV for the last couple days expressing their outrage.
Truth is indeed stranger than fiction when death sentences in some states don’t get commuted, but convicts in other states get a clean slate…Who was it again who said the law was an a_ _?
Truth is indeed stranger than fiction when death sentences in some states don’t get commuted, but convicts in other states get a clean slate…Who was it again who said the law was an a_ _?
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DaveBj
Guest
Mr. Bumble, in Oliver Twist. But it’s not so much that the law is a [donkey], as it is that the people who administer the law are [donkeys].I’m not sure I understand why these particular people qualified to have their records wiped clean. And as for the four who worked in the governor’s mansion, the victims’ families have been on TV for the last couple days expressing their outrage.
Truth is indeed stranger than fiction when death sentences in some states don’t get commuted, but convicts in other states get a clean slate…Who was it again who said the law was an a_ _?
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