Regarding Arkansas Gov pardoning son - why not pardon everyone with drug felonies?

[Liberal_in_LA]

Outgoing Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe says he will pardon his son, Kyle, in connection with a felony drug conviction from more than a decade ago. Also on Wednesday, he backpedaled on his intention to pardon another man with personal ties to him.

The Arkansas Parole Board recommended the pardon of Kyle Beebe, now 34, last month. He was in convicted in 2003 for possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and sentenced to three years' probation. According to parole board documents, police found two ounces of marijuana in Beebe’s home.

He completed his probation in 2006, and, his father said Wednesday, has learned from his mistake.

“He’s grown up a lot,” the elder Beebe told Arkansas TV station KATV. “Kids, when they’re young, do stupid stuff. He was no different.”

http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/politicsnow/la-pn-arkansas-governor-son-pardon-20141113-story.html#page=1

[noiretextatique]

1. wow

just fucking

[moriah]

2. Given that Mike Beebe is a Democrat who is on his way out of office....

... great way to spew CONservative criticism.

Edit: What people SHOULD be doing is getting him to pardon the West Memphis Three. And there's a rally scheduled for just that soon.

[dsc]

5. It is a valid criticism no matter who spouts it

His son is getting one, way more lenient standard and the rest of people who got convicted are getting a harsher one and Beebe is at fault for that.

[Louisiana1976]

3. I'm with the OP--why doesn't he pardon everyone who's had a drug felony?

[moriah]

4. Because the list would be too long?

IMHO Governor's pardons should be used to address travesties in the legal system, yes.

But all felony drug convictions? That's too big of a travesty for any one governor to fix.

The fact that three young men have been let out of jail but still have murder convictions hanging over their heads for a murder evidence has shown they did NOT commit, that's a travesty that we should be trying to get him to address now. There is a huge rally scheduled to try to get him to do just that for the WM3.

[dsc]

6. that is ridiculous

Carter did just that for people who fled the draft during the Vietnam war.

[moriah]

9. He was the President, not a governor. n/t

[dsc]

14. so

Only Presidents can issue a mass pardon? This would have been a fairly simple thing for the governor to do. He chose not to and frankly that is disgusting to me. The law should be applied fairly or not at all. I don't think pot should be criminalized at all, but if it is going to be criminalized by a jurisdiction the criminalization should be uniformly applied.

[moriah]

19. It was the president, AFTER the war had finished and the draft was no longer in place.

If they decriminalize pot in Arkansas, then it'd be appropriate to pardon those with pot convictions.

[dsc]

20. then the son shouldn't have been pardoned either

[moriah]

25. Even though his son had been recommended for it?

Accusing Democrats with corruption sits badly with me on this forum. More an article I would expect on Discussionist.

[dsc]

31. It isn't corruption

it's hypocrisy. If Beebe gets the pardon which I have no doubt he deserves while many other equally deserving don't that isn't fair.

[Art_from_Ark]

13. I think that a lot of people with drug felonies

also have other felonies as well. Like the guy who robbed a Fort Smith convenience store while he was high on "bath salts".

So a blanket pardon for all drug felons wouldn't work.

[dsc]

15. He couldn't put in the words

all people who have a drug felony but no other felonies. Somehow I bet Carter put similar words in his. I don't think he just issued an all purpose pardon to those who fled.

[JonLP24]

22. Is there a link?

I'm having a hard time finding it which surprises me because me bath salts stories are often sensationalized.

Basically I'm trying to find the charges. A pardon may not work in this case because at best maybe there is a public intoxication which I doubt is a felony and unless there is a possession charge. I'm trying to find the legal status, I know it is illegal in Arkansas but I can't find if it is a misdemeanor or felony.

It may not apply here depending on all the facts, even public intoxication is rarely used outside of alcohol.

[Art_from_Ark]

32. Bath salts are a Schedule I drug in Arkansas

http://www.crimelab.arkansas.gov/news/Pages/default.aspx

[B Calm]

18. I think he has gave over 300 pardons, how many are drug related

I don't know.

[surrealAmerican]

7. What's the point in pardoning someone who's already served out his sentence?

What am I missing here?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

8. Because now they can claim no felony convictions on job apps, loan apps, fed aid apps, etc.

Now they can be bonded. Maybe work as an attorney..

[JimDandy]

11. Lots of pluses to a pardon:

The Effects

Once the Governor grants you a pardon, the Governor will notify the court that sentenced you and the court will issue an order expunging the records relating to your pardoned conviction.1[18]A pardon does not expunge records of a sex offense, an offense where the victim was under[19], or an offense that resulted in death or serious physical injury.18

However, a pardon will release you of the duty to continue registering as a sex offender if you have been doing so because of the conviction. [20]
Of course, if you have other convictions which require you to register as a sex offender and which have not been pardoned, then you will be required to continue registering as a sex offender.


Keep in mind that to have a record “expunged” in Arkansas simply means it will be sealed and treated as confidential; it does not mean physical destruction of the file.[21] Nevertheless, once “expunged,” the only people who can access your sealed conviction records are you, your attorney, a criminal justice agency (if you are seeking employment with them), a court and a prosecuting attorney in a future criminal proceeding.[22] This limited access means that, once expunged, your pardoned conviction is no longer open to the general public to see.

Note that if you were given probation for your offense, you may be able to have the charges dismissed and the records of the case expunged (i.e., sealed) after you complete probation, without the need to first obtain a pardon.2[6]You should talk to an attorney if you think you qualify for this option.

Once you are granted a pardon, the underlying offense is treated as though it never happened. [23]
Therefore, you can state on any application that you never committed that offense.[23]


Also, once you receive a pardon, your conviction cannot be used against you in an application for a license, registration, or certificate—with the exception of certain types of licenses, such as a teaching, nursing, or physician license. [24]

Your conviction also cannot be used to enhance your sentence in any future criminal case or to attack your credibility if you are ever a witness in any future criminal trial (provided you were not convicted of another felony after receiving the pardon)2[25]


Once you are granted a pardon, you will also have most if not all of your civil rights which were lost restored. This includes your right to vote and serve on a jury.[26] In fact, your right to vote is generally automatically restored the moment you complete your sentence.[6]


Furthermore, in most cases the federal government cannot rely solely on a conviction that has been subject to a pardon in order to deport you from the country. However, if you merely receive an “expungement,” the conviction can still be used against you for deportation purposes.

In Arkansas, you lose your right to possess a gun if you have been convicted of a felony.[27]A pardon only restores your gun rights if the Governor specifies in the pardon that they are restored. Again, you will not have your gun rights restored if the conviction is less than eight years old and/or involves the use of a weapon.[27]

Under federal law, if you have received a pardon from any state, the pardoned conviction cannot be used by federal authorities to prosecute you for “unlawful possession of a firearm” under federal law, unless the pardon specifically says you cannot possess a gun.[28] However, just because you cannot be prosecuted under federal law does not mean you cannot be prosecuted under State law. Some states have stricter gun laws than federal law. If regaining your gun rights is important to you, make sure you make you desire known during the application process.

Finally, keep in mind that the effects of a pardon can vary from state to state. Whether another state will recognize your Arkansas pardon when you move there will depend on the laws of that state. For example, if you receive a pardon in Arkansas and then move to another state, that other state might take away your gun rights or require you to register as a sex offender again even if those restrictions were removed when you were still living in Arkansas. The good news is that states tend to honor each other’s pardons.

http://www.pardon411.com/wiki/Arkansas_Pardon_Information#The_Effects

[msongs]

10. the son pardon was recommended by the state parole board before it was made by gov. nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

21. Wow. What a coinkydink. That the Governor's son was recommended for a pardon.

Like a bullet hitting a bullet. What are the chances?

Who appoints the parole board again?

[Comrade Grumpy]

12. On the federal level, Obama and Holder are begging prisoners to seek commutations.

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2014/apr/22/hundreds_perhaps_thousands_could

"Hundreds, Perhaps Thousands" Could be Freed Under New Federal Clemency Rules


by psmith, April 22, 2014, 01:25am, (Issue #831)

Attorney General Eric Holder announced Monday that the Justice Department will soon release new, more expansive criteria for recommending federal prisoner clemency applications for President Obama to review. That means Obama, who has so far freed a paltry 10 prisoners early in his first six years could free "hundred, perhaps thousands" in his final two, a senior administration official told Yahoo News Monday.

Most of those who will be eligible for clemency under the new criteria are doing time for drug offenses, a category that accounts for 50.1% of the federal prison population, or roughly 100,000 inmates. As the Justice Department noted in its press release, the move will be "an important step to reduce sentencing disparities for drug offenders in the federal prison system."

"The White House has indicated it wants to consider additional clemency applications, to restore a degree of justice, fairness and proportionality for deserving individuals who do not pose a threat to public safety," Holder said in a video message posted on the department's website. "The Justice Department is committed to recommending as many qualified applicants as possible for reduced sentences."

Later this week, Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole is expected to announce more specific details about the expanded criteria the department will use and the logistical effort underway to ensure proper reviews of the anticipated wave of applications, the press release said.

President Obama has, midway through his second term, begun moving to use his clemency power. In December, he commuted the sentences of eight federal inmates convicted of nonviolent drug offenses involving crack cocaine. He said the eight men and women had been sentenced under an "unfair system," including the 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses that was reduced but not eliminated by the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010.

This latest move was foreshadowed by a January announcement that the administration was taking the unprecedented step of encouraging defense lawyers to suggest inmates whom the president might let out of prison early, as part of its effort to curtail severe penalties in low-level drug cases, and again last week, when White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler said Obama has directed the Justice Department to improve its clemency recommendation process and recruit more applications from convicts.

Drug reform advocates greeted the announcement as a step in the right direction and as a signal to state governors -- most drug offenders are doing time on state, not federal, charges -- but also as a tail-end fix for a problem that needs front-end solutions.

"This would be a positive step toward righting the wrongs of our broken criminal justice system. I hope governors with the same power at the state level follow his lead and reunite more families," said Anthony Papa, media relations manager for the Drug Policy Alliance, who was granted clemency in New York State in 1997 after serving 12 years under the notorious Rockefeller Drug Laws.

"With half a million people still behind bars on nonviolent drug charges, clearly thousands are deserving of a second chance. Congress should act immediately to reduce the draconian federal mandatory minimum sentences that condemn thousands to decades behind bars for non-violent drug offenses," added Papa.

It could do that by passing the Smarter Sentencing Act (Senate Bill 1410), which has already made it out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. But in the meantime, liberating some of the thousands of people currently imprisoned with harsh drug sentences is a move that can't come soon enough.

Washington, DC
United States

[UglyGreed]

16. It aint what you know

it's who you know

[Bluenorthwest]

17. How about pardoning everyone with marijuana convictions? Comparing two ounces of pot to

'all drug felonies' is a bit unfair. A drug felony can include manufacture of meth, possession of kilos of heroin and these are not at all the same as having a small amount of marijuana. So I think the proper question is why not pardon everyone with marijuana possession felonies.

[Throd]

23. I agree. All non-violent marijuana possession convictions should be pardoned.

[B Calm]

24. Governor Beebe announces pardons

http://www.katv.com/story/26738451/governor-beebe-announces-pardons



http://governor.arkansas.gov/office/Pages/pendingExecutivePardons.aspx

How many of these are marijuana related? you'd have to google each name to know.

Executive Pardons
Pending Executive Pardons 2014

November 2014

Phillip W. Allen: LITTLE ROCK, Ar. Possession of Methamphetamine and Drug Paraphernalia

Roger D. Barnett:

Leah Brandon Ruddell
Richard Burrow
Daniel E. Bush
Robert L. Chisnall
Anna Lee Clark
Preston Cook
LeQuisha A. Dunigan
James Gosvenor
Jerrod W. Holloway
Marcus Hubbard
Michael E. Jackson
Tanya L. Myers Krantz
John M. Land, Jr.
Garrett McGhee
Michael Okoniewski
Raymond W. Owens
John L. Roach
Carly Rogers
Thomas D. Rose
Julie McCown
Gladden Shelby
Jerry Smith
Mark A. Walker
Paul Whitehead

October 2014
Donald Brown
Perry Casey
Naomi Chambers-Gill
Garrett Cowsert II
David Davis
John Faye
Jonathan Fears
Tracy Fisher
Eugene Hovis
Shannon Hovis
Crystal Johnston Haynes
Jason Pavatt
Bradley Moring
Paul Roberson
Larry Tumbleson
Dana Turner
Sharon Turner

September 2014
Brian Armand
Colt Boyd
Jason Crabtree
Carl Daugherty
Steve Estabrook
James Hall
David Haymon
Jimmy Hobbs Jr.
Randall Housley Sr.
Danny Leichman
Amy Rankins
Angela Sims
Zachary Vann
Russell White
Kristy White-Clayborn

August 2014
Phillip Henderson
David Mayer
Charles McNany
John R. Pickartz
Rennae Wilkerson Storment
Michelle Bryan Whitaker

July 2014
Keith Blevins
Kelli Coleman
Brian C. Feathers
Larry B. Fluellen, Jr.
Kevin E. Johnson
William M. Lewis
Jimmy D. Logan
Stan Lynch
Daniel Vinson
Brian K. Yarnell


June 2014
Elvins, Susan
Hicks, DeWayne
Johnson, Mark A.
Monday, Richard G.
Maze, Charlene
Sloss, Jimmy
Smith, Daniel
Weeks, Gary

May 2014
Bolden, Kevia K.
Bowden, Raymond J.
Cossey, David
Green, Mickey
Green, Paula
King, Randy
Lane, Toby
McWhorter, William E
Middleton, Richard
Morris, Nicki
Newborn, Jackie R.
Oliver, Jeremy P.
Ramos, Mynor G.
Siedle, Charles R.
Sykes, Michael C.

April 2014
Jimmy E. Blackwood, Sr.
Brian Earls
Roderick A. Hyre, Jr.
Tyrel W. Kempson
Johnny L. Kesterson
Tony N. Moses
Jarrod A. Petrus
Robert E. Richards, Jr.
Jordan C. Riddle
Adam L. Willfond

March 2014
Tracey A. Green
Ronnie W. Hayes
Billy R. Johns
Edward A. Joseph
Nathan G. Lee
Mary Odom
Tony M. Ratliff
Lloyd V. Renfro
Ellis R. Tidwell


February 2014
Bobby J. Douthit
James R. Hosford
Cloris Jean Espinosa Madrid
Jeffrey D. Petty
Latonya Tripp Washington

January 2014
Bobby J. Bentley
Joshua H. Brown
Byron Scott
Chad L. Wright

Executive Pardons 2013
December 2013
Sarah E. Frazier
Orvil Germany
Walter Henschel
Shawn Lawrence
Donnie F. Maier
Terrill R. White
Patricia K. Williams

November 2013
John E. Bamburg, Jr.
Michael L. Loy
Steve W. Spears

October 2013

Randy Bettger
Robert M. Brown
Ronald G. Holland
Michael C. Horn
Jared L. Jackson
Marcia R. Taylor
Timothy C. Thomas

September 2013
Venton L. Leakey
Steven W. McDonald
Michelle O'Barr
Romillious D. Scroggins
Rodney W. Silvers
Joshua K. Smith
Stephen W. Tencleve

August 2013
Eric Pinter
Louis L. Pledger
Kenneth H. Stump

July 2013
Dustin Hardester
Mathieu Hyatt
Bryan Loving
Tammie Workman

June 2013
Bradley Boyd
Jeffery Champlin
Deniece Nelson
Shannon P. Sanders
Charlie A. Stover Jr.
Finley P. Turner III
Wesley D. Vanlandingham


May 2013
Tim Bumpous
Warren Elliott
Jerry L. Lee
Gary J. Lipe
Tammy L. Murphy
Nancy Ritchie Newell
Johnny R. Pitchford
Gary P. Wilson

April 2013
Willie E. Easley
Robert D. Ellis
Charles D. Kildow
Lee C. Nayles
Calvin J. Tidwell
Renee Davis Victory


March 2013
Gary Owens (commutation)
Leah D. Evans
Keith Flynn
Cleotus Hughes
Victoria Jefferson
Darrell Kading
Nicholas McGhee
David Byron Powell
February 2013
William J. Donahue
Jason R. Holland
Robert P. Lomax
David Lee Waits
Herman T. Warren

January 2013
Larry Brothers (commutation)
Terry Dale
Floyd E. Gattis, Jr.

Executive Pardons 2012
December 2012
Joshua B. Baker
Roger Clark Sr.
Juanita Herrin Godfrey
Nancy Kester
Geoffrey Lueken
Jeff Rousseau
Jason Wheatley

November 2012
Jason Bishop
Ann M. Jackson
James D. Odom, Jr.
Terry A. Rudder
Kimberly Morrow Shurtleff
Denisho Stone
Mickel D. Warren

October 2012
Kyle E. Burton
Keith Heide
James T. Humphrey
Joseph S. Owens
Lisa Teer
Anthony Thompson
Cory W. Whorton

September 2012
Patricia Davidson
Nathaniel M. Mason
Harold D. Stallings, Jr.
Lucas J. Williams

August 2012
Holly D. Hart
Eric A. Neal
Jimmy E. Powell
Perry D. Willhite
Christopher C. Williams

July 2012
John W. Ford
Michael M. Green
Jessica Croft Kalkbrenner
Peggy Susanne Neal
Ryan G. Stone
Willie Wiles

June 2012
Michael Barrow
Jimmy Cowan
Kelsey Edwards
Randy Golden
Shannon Bayless Morrison
Shane A. Staggs
Scott A. Waldo
Jason Walton
James L. Watts, Jr.

May 2012
Steve Y. Frazier
Barris J. Galloway
Charles A. Hastings
Thomas R. Knighten
Delois J. Rainey
Rachelle Benton Rush
Mitchell D. Thompson

April 2012
Terry Ables
Glendale Collins
William L. Conklin
Zachary Jackson
Marzetta Oates
Johnny Suggs
Edward White

March 2012
Jeffery L. Frazier
Anthony Hurrell
Beverice Hice Line
Justin Lutick
Pamela J. Miller
Bryan Stewart

February 2012
Calla J. Duvall
Terra McCabe-Wilburn
Jimmy Ray Morris
Theresa Qualls
Shelia Simpson
Corey Toney

January 2012
Tracy S. Brown
Ricky D. Gillespie
Carrington Jenkins
Bandy L. Shearer

[moriah]

27. I want to see three more names added to that list:

Damien Echols
Jason Baldwin
Jessie Misskelley, Jr.

[B Calm]

28. West Memphis 3 on death row

[moriah]

30. They're free now thanks to an Alford plea, but yeah, they shouldn't have the convictions..

... hanging over their heads. It hurts Jesse the most, he's not the type to make his living by book contracts.

[jonno99]

29. +1