Gov. Haley Barbour approved full pardons for nearly 200 people

[Charlie09]

WOW, yet another reason to keep religion out of government...

Really?

 

[jjenny]

Interview with one of the pardoned murderers. He says it was all an accident. Not according to the court and the witnesses but apparently the governor bought it. Further, he says that it's tradition that once you get into the governor's mansion (and get the opportunity to sweettalk him) you're a free man.

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/13/video-exclusive-pardoned-mississippi-killer-speaks/?hpt=ac_mid

I could hear little kids on the background.

 

[Seek&Find]

I'm a Christian, and I was upset (and a whole range of negative emotions) when I heard about this. I don't care what the "tradition" is (and he went far beyond tradition with the number he released), he showed a serious lack of judgment here. As the details of some of the crimes commited show, as well as the interviews with some of the victims, he put people in danger. I do believe in forgiveness, as I've been forgiven, but Christian forgiveness applies to sin, not crime. Crime is breaking the law, and punishable by the law. He undid all the hard work the investigative and arresting officers, DA's, witnesses, judges, and juries did. I grew up in the South (and love many things about it), but the pardoning of the trustees that worked at the governor's mansion immediately reminded me of the way slaves that worked in the slaveowner's house were sometimes given extra freedom, etc. Just wholly inappropriate in every way. I believe some do find God in prison, but many more pretend to. One thing that, for me, indicates which it is is if they seek early release, pardon etc. Part of God's forgiveness is acknowledging your sin. I think if someone were truly in that place, they'd acknowledge their crime, their fair sentence, and serve it fully, recognizing the pain they've caused others through their crime, and their opportunity to still serve God while in prison. So glad they blocked some of the releases, hoping they catch the others. I agree with others who said this ability to fully pardon should immediately be blocked throughout our country. Do the crime, do the time. Living with consequences, like not being able to vote, own a gun, harder to find a job, etc. should serve to remind them to live on the straight and narrow. The most a governor or President should be able to affect is a judicial review, IMO.

Praying for the safety of all and the capture of those on the run.

 

[kittykat1]

Pardoned Miss. murderers to remain free for now

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_...ain-free-for-now/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

Files missing on killers pardoned by Barbour

"Pardon files are missing or don't exist for four convicted killers and another man who worked as trusties at the Governor's Mansion and were pardoned by former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour during his final days in office."

"The Associated Press made public records requests for such documents, but state officials said Wednesday they don't have them on the trusties and some others pardoned by Barbour, a two-term Republican governor who left office this month."

"Attorney General Jim Hood, a Democrat who has filed a legal challenge to dozens of the 198 pardons issued by Barbour at the end of his second term, said about 20 files are missing from a batch of several boxes that his office is examining."

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57366466/files-missing-on-killers-pardoned-by-barbour/?tag=stack

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

'Uncle Haley' pardoned many with ties to power

"A close look at some of the clemency applications of the nearly 200 others who were pardoned reveals that a significant share contained appeals from members of prominent Mississippi families, major Republican donors or others from the higher social strata of Mississippi life."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46172675/ns/politics-the_new_york_times/


I'm so disappointed in Gov. Barbour.... I was quite impressed with his handling of the Hurricane Katrina emergency..... I'm terribly disappointed to hear about this mess he's created. And all this heartache.

 

[jjenny]

"Mississippi authorities say they don't know where a convicted murderer is, more than two weeks after a pardon from then-Gov. Haley Barbour released him from prison."

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/25/justice/mississippi-pardons/index.html?hpt=hp_bn1

 

[MagnoliaMom]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/27/justice/mississippi-pardons-reward/index.html

"Ozment already proved he can't live in our society, by our rules," said John Champion. "He committed the ultimate act by taking somebody's life, so, no, he should never be out," he said.

"I didn't want him to identify me or the other guy, so I shot him twice. ... I shot him in the head," Ozment said in the police confession.

Ozment said his share in the robbery was "between 50 and 60 dollars."

"When he was shot, and he fell to the ground, they said he was begging for help. ... You can't imagine how that feels," said McAbee, Montgomery's sister, as she began to cry.

"He has no obligation to do anything. He's been pardoned. He's a free man," said Barbour.

:waitasec:

 

[kittykat1]

Pardoned Miss. murderer found in Wyoming

http://www.cbsnews.com/8300-504083_162-504083.html

 

[MagnoliaMom]

Pardoned Miss. murderer found in Wyoming

http://www.cbsnews.com/8300-504083_162-504083.html

Found but all they can do is serve him. He doesn't have to comply.

 

[my_tee_mouse]

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c2#/video/us/2012/01/30/cooper-podcast-monday.cnn

AC360: Keeping Them Honest

Interesting video. Very interesting.

 

[jjenny]

Found but all they can do is serve him. He doesn't have to comply.

If he doesn't show up they will move to hold him in contempt.

 

[kittykat1]

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c2#/video/us/2012/01/30/cooper-podcast-monday.cnn

AC360: Keeping Them Honest

Interesting video. Very interesting.

Everyone knows these weren't crimes of passion. Even the governor. He's just trying to cover his rear end.

I don't believe for one minute the governor consulted with Tammy Ellis' family. These people are still grief stricken and would have NEVER consented to Gatlin's early release.

 

[jjenny]

Everyone knows these weren't crimes of passion. Even the governor. He's just trying to cover his rear end.

I don't believe for one minute the governor consulted with Tammy Ellis' family. These people are still grief stricken and would have NEVER consented to Gatlin's early release.

I also have no clue as to what studies supposedly show that if a person commits so-called "crime of passion" they are not likely to commit another crime.

 

[my_tee_mouse]

I also have no clue as to what studies supposedly show that if a person commits so-called "crime of passion" they are not likely to commit another crime.

And even if they were "not likely to commit another crime," they committed this one and were sentenced to prison...so in prison they should have stayed. Or should we have just stood over the body and told the family, "Oh well, 'studies' show he's not likely to commit another crime, so we'll just let him go on his merry way?" Is that what we should have done, Guvnah?

 

[Blondie in Spokane]

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/bestoftv/2012/02/03/ac-lavandera-mississippi-pardons.cnn

Pardoned DUI offender in fatal wreck

 

[Donjeta]

What a disgrace.

So much for unlikely to reoffend.


http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/u...n-to-mississippi-governor.html?pagewanted=all

Of all the pardons issued by Mr. Barbour, the case involving Harry R. Bostick, first disclosed by a blogger in Oxford, Miss., Tom Freeland, may be the most confounding.

Mr. Bostick, a former criminal investigator for the I.R.S., was sentenced in May 2010 for his third drunken driving offense — a felony — and ordered into treatment.

Several former government lawyers and law enforcement officers who worked with him on federal tax prosecutions submitted letters on his behalf. In one, a former United States attorney, Jim Greenlee, argued that Mr. Bostick had reversed his destructive course of conduct. “He now fits the criteria and meets the human factors that make his pardon a wise decision,” Mr. Greenlee wrote.

In October, Mr. Bostick, 55, was arrested again for drunken driving, this time in an accident that left an 18-year-old waitress dead. The waitress, Charity Smith, was working at Cracker Barrel to save money for college. On a Friday night, her Buick collided with Mr. Bostick’s truck.

Mr. Bostick was charged with his fourth D.U.I. On Jan. 10, he was pardoned for his prior felony D.U.I. by Mr. Barbour.

Rest in peace, Charity.
Her mother in the video was devastated that she was forgotten.

Here is something for us to remember her by:

http://chickasaw360.com/view/full_story/15981410/article-Charity-Smith?instance=1st_left

 

[Velouria]

Grrrrr :maddening:
Miss. Supreme Court rules Barbour pardons valid

http://news.yahoo.com/miss-supreme-court-rules-barbour-pardons-valid-195704594.html


JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Mississippi Supreme Court upheld the pardons issued by former Gov. Haley Barbour during his final days in office, including several that freed convicted killers.
The Republican pardoned 198 people before finishing his second term Jan. 10, including four convicted murderers and a robber who worked as inmate trusties at the Governor's Mansion. Of those pardoned, 10 were in jail at the time.
Democratic Attorney General Jim Hood challenged the pardons. Hood argued before the Supreme Court on Feb. 9 that some pardons didn't meet the requirements of the Mississippi Constitution, which says people seeking pardons must publish notices for 30 days in a newspaper.
In a 6-3 opinion, the justices wrote "we are compelled to hold that — in each of the cases before us — it fell to the governor alone to decide whether the Constitution's publication requirement was met."


more at link

 

[angelmom]

I do not understand this ruling. Apparently being the governor in MS makes you God...you can forgive people and don't have to follow any laws.

WTF?

 

[pkz]

AC360: two of these murderers were taken to a car dealership by the Gov.'s wife to purchase cars :what: