Judge Halts Mississippi Pardons After Uproar

[mfcorey1]

As victims’ loved ones ask why killers and rapists got pardoned by former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour during his final hours in office, a Mississippi state judge has temporarily halted the release of 21 of the 200-plus pardoned inmates.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood had requested the injunction against the inmates’ releases, telling reporters he believes some of Barbour’s pardons could have violated the state constitution by failing to give sufficient public notice that the convicts were seeking clemency.

The state constitution requires a public notice about an inmate’s intention to seek a pardon be published for 30 days before the governor can grant one.

Five former inmates, four of them convicted of murder and serving life sentences, have already been released. The state’s top lawyer is asking the court to serve those former inmates notices underlining that their release may be challenged.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/01/mississippi-ag-says-former-gov-may-have-violated-state-constitution-with-pardons/

[opihimoimoi]

1. Oh Oh TOO LATE...they be on some small Island sipping Mai Tais by now

[sendero]

2. This is one of the most baffling.

... political events I can remember. A law-and-order Repuke granting pardons en masse? Wow.

[onenote]

3. Not defending Barbour, but

the way this story has been reported is disturbing. Clearly there are a number of individual pardons/grants of clemency that seem questionable and need to be fully vetted for the public. On the other hand, it would be a bad thing if the use of the pardon/clemency power was so tainted by this story that governors (in Mississippi and elsewhere) were deterred from using it. While a grant of over 200 pardons/grants of clemency at one time seems outrageous at first blush, if the facts are as they've been reported (although not reported at first), the overwhelming majority of those receiving pardons had already completed their prison terms and were not in custody. Pardoning those who have served their punishments in order to restore to them the right to vote and to make it somewhat easier for them to pursue employment often is the right and progressive thing to do. Let's not lose sight of that.

[Tsiyu]

4. I heard on the news that one of the guys killed a woman holding a six-week old baby

They found the baby alive lying on its dead mama.

Don't have a link for the veracity of the tale, but he was apparently one of the trusties working at the Gubbner's place.

Very, very troubling if this is true. Her family (Gavvin is the name maybe?) is protesting this guy's pardon.

[monmouth]

5. I wouldn't be surprised if Haley knew this would never happen but wanted to give the appearance of

being a "good ole boy" and a thank you to those who did work for him . Just a guess.