Pardoned Mississippi murderer found in Wyoming

[alp227]

A convicted murderer who was pardoned this month in a controversial move by outgoing Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, has been found in Wyoming, Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood announced Monday.

Joseph Ozment was served with papers at a hotel in Laramie, Wyoming, where he had been staying under another name, his office said. As he was fleeing in his girlfriend's car, Ozment bumped an officer and sped from the parking lot. He later returned to the hotel on foot, denying he had been behind the wheel, Hood said. The officer was not seriously hurt.

Ozment's whereabouts had been unknown since he was picked up by his mother on January 8 after his release.

"We said we would find him, and we did," said Hood. "Now, we will let the court decide what happens from here."

full: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/30/justice/mississippi-pardoned-murderer-found/index.html

[bluestateguy]

1. This is going to put Hood in the governor's mansion in 2015

A Democratic governor in Mississippi.

[freshwest]

3. That would be great.

[Ter]

9. Great?

Any Democrat Mississippi elects governor will make even the most centrist Democrat look like a screaming liberal.

[freshwest]

10. You want a Republican to get it? This isn't Freeperville.

[Ter]

14. No

But any Democrat elected will be far from "great" as it was put.

[freshwest]

17. Any Democrat is great next to a Republican. But carry on. n/t

[Ter]

19. How's Zell Miller sound?

I can't tell much difference.

[alp227]

13. MS last elected a (D) governor in 1999 (Ronnie Musgrove)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronnie_Musgrove

he lost re-election in 2003 to Barbour. He doesn't seem to be a DLC type based on what i'm reading here on wikipedia. Also, remember Mississippi's role in the Democratic Party during the Civil Rights Movement.

And your statement about conservative Dem governors might've been accurate from 1876 to 1992...

[Ter]

20. He's far to the right of the DLC; From that Wiki article:

Religion
In August 2003, Musgrove wrote judge Roy Moore on state letterhead to praise the judge's unconstitutional - as ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court - Ten Commandments monument, inviting the judge to display the monument in the Mississippi State Capitol for a week the following month and announcing his intention to encourage other governors to follow suit. Musgrove further wrote, "It would be my honor to host this monument as a symbol of every Mississippian's dedication to the fundamental principles of the Ten Commandments."

In 2001, Musgrove signed legislation requiring the motto "In God We Trust" to be displayed in every public school classroom, as well as the school auditoriums and cafeterias, throughout the state.

Gay rights
In 2000, Musgrove signed a bill into law banning same-sex couples from adopting children, making Mississippi only the third state to have done so. The law also says that Mississippi will not recognize adoptions from other states by same-sex couples.

Abortion
Musgrove as governor signed a bill banning public funding of abortions, with exceptions for when the mother's life is in danger, when the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest, or when a fetal malformation is incompatible with the baby being born alive.

[alp227]

21. DAMN! He STILL lost to the farther right Barbour??

[Sgent]

23. Yep

I don't think people here realize just how conservative people in this area of the country are.

I also expect that Senator Landreau D-LA (who many people love to hate), will be replaced by either Jindal or another clone in two years.

[gopiscrap]

2. In some ways I don't feel good about this

yeah it was a shitty corrupt pardon, but to retroactively penalize folks sets a dangerous trend IMHO

[rocktivity]

4. Yeah, if he was pardoned

Wasn't he free to go where he pleased?


rocktivity

[piedmont]

5. There's some question as to whether all the legal requirements were met.

There was no prior notice published in the newspapers, as (very sensibly) required.

[csziggy]

6. He's not being arrested - they just wanted to serve him

From the link in the OP:

Ozment is one of four convicted murderers Barbour pardoned this month. He did not appear at a court hearing in a case challenging the pardons. Hood has said officials wanted to serve Ozment with a document telling him to appear in court. If he does not comply, a judge has the authority to hold him in contempt, the attorney general's office said.

[Joe Shlabotnik]

8. I agree. Its the shitty politicians, or policies that should be addressed.

This is taking the easy way out by making the pardoned guy a scapegoat for a system that clearly has flaws. It's not his fault he got pardoned, but I'm sure the legal system will skewer him anyway.

[Thor_MN]

7. Regardless of all the other things

Why would you go to an areas with smaller populations where you are more likely to be noticed as a "new" person? Crowded areas where it's a blur of anonymous faces would seem more logical to me,

[geomon666]

11. Somehow I don't think he's one of the brightest people in the world. n/t

[XemaSab]

16. There's 31,000 people there

Small, but not so small that people will stop and stare.

I think there's a lot of oil and gas work up there. Maybe he went up there to--shocker--get a job?

[Found in Yonkers]

12. How do you check into a hotel post-9/11 under an assumed name?

I have to show 479 pieces of ID to pick up my drycleaning!

[truthisfreedom]

15. Fake ID?

They're more popular than ever!

[Posteritatis]

18. Some hotels are probably as paranoid as they should be, not as much as they're expected to be. (nt)

[Major Hogwash]

22. Laramie? Laramie, Wyoming?

Gawd damn, what a blithering idiot!!
Nobody goes to Laramie in January!!