Posted on 12/10/2007 4:07:14 AM PST by AmericanInTokyo
By ANDREW DeMILLO, Associated Press Writer Mon Dec 10, 3:10 AM ET
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - As governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee had a hand in twice as many pardons and commutations as his three predecessors combined.
The case he's asked about most concerns the parole of a castrated rapist who later killed a woman.
Although the Republican presidential contender plays down any personal involvement in that release, Huckabee granted 1,033 pardons and commutations in his 10 1/2 years as governor of Arkansas. The acts of clemency benefited the stepson of a staff member, murderers who worked at the governor's mansion, a rock star and inmates who received good words from their pastors.
"It seems to be true at least anecdotally that if a minister is involved, (Huckabee) seems likely to grant clemency," prosecutor Robert Herzfeld said in 2004 after successfully battling the then-governor over the release of a killer.
Whitewater figure David Hale, a government witness in the trial that forced Gov. Jim Guy Tucker's resignation and let Huckabee ascend to the office, was pardoned after being sentenced to 21 days in a state insurance case. Huckabee complained it would cost too much to hold him. The price tag: $1,200.
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards received a gubernatorial pardon for a 1975 traffic offense. Huckabee prepared the paperwork to clear the rock star's good name after he met him at a North Little Rock concert, .
During his years as governor, Huckabee granted clemency an average of about once every four days. Huckabee's successor, Mike Beebe, has issued 40 so far this year, fewer than one a week. Bill Clinton, Frank White and Tucker granted 507 clemencies in the 17 1/2 years they served as governor.
The most-discussed clemency case during Huckabee's tenure involved Wayne DuMond, who was castrated — he said by masked men who attacked him at home — while awaiting trial on charges he raped a teenager in 1984. Though Huckabee did not pardon DuMond nor commute his sentence, two members of a state parole board maintain that he pressured them to make a decision in the case.
Huckabee denies any such pressuring and notes that it was his predecessor, Jim Guy Tucker, who reduced DuMond's sentence, making him eligible for parole. Still, Huckabee has acknowledged his interest in gaining freedom for DuMond predated his term as governor.
Huckabee says there's nothing in his record to indicate he's soft on crime. While the number of pardons exceeded those of his predecessors, so did the size of the state prison system and so did the number of people executed.
Prosecutors say Huckabee was more inclined to release or reduce the sentences of prisoners if he had direct contact with them or was lobbied by those close to him.
Some inmates who benefited from some sort of personal connection:
_James Maxwell, who killed a pastor of the Church of God in Arkansas. Maxwell worked at the Governor's Mansion when Huckabee announced his intent to reduce his prison sentence.
_Samuel W. Taylor, convicted on a drug charge. A prosecutor said the man had told him Taylor's sister had gone to school with Huckabee. Huckabee said the sister didn't influence the decision. Taylor subsequently was arrested on another drug charge.
_Donald W. Clark, convicted of theft. Huckabee's pastor recommended leniency for Clark, whose stepmother worked on Huckabee's gubernatorial staff.
_Robert A. Arnold Jr., who was convicted of killing his father-in-law. Arnold's father, a former mayor of Hope, Huckabee's hometown, said he was a casual friend of the governor.
_A pastor who promoted Huckabee among blacks urged the governor to grant clemency to John Henry Claiborne, who was sentenced to 100 years for a 1994 armed robbery, according to a 2004 report in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Huckabee made Claiborne eligible for parole after receiving a letter from the Rev. Charles Williams, who told the newspaper he had helped win "many, many" clemencies from Huckabee.
_Denver Witham, convicted of beating a man to death with a lead pipe at bar, had his sentence commuted by Huckabee. The action drew the ire of prosecutors who speculated that Huckabee's act of clemency was related to Witham, who was lead singer in a prison band, being a fellow musician.
Huckabee has repeatedly faced criticism from prosecutors over his clemency policies. And in 2002, Ashley Stevens, the 1984 rape victim, joined Angela McCoy, the daughter of the Rev. Billy Price Bennett who was shot to death in 1979 by James Maxwell, to campaign against Huckabee's re-election.
"I just thought that the power of executive clemency was being exercised on the wrong folks," said Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley, a Democrat who also campaigned against Huckabee.
As for DuMond, the convicted rapist initially was sentenced to life plus 20 years for his conviction in the 1984 rape of Stevens when she was a teenager, but Tucker reduced the sentence to 39 1/2 years, making DuMond eligible for parole.
While Huckabee told reporters last week that DuMond's file was waiting for him when he took office, his interest in the case started two years earlier after he met with DuMond's wife, Dusty. When he took office, she contacted Huckabee again. "He said if he was ever in a position to look into it he would try to remember it," said Dusty DuMond in a 1996 interview with The Associated Press.
Stevens met with Huckabee and his staff in 1996 to discuss his intent to grant clemency.
"I could tell he had already made up his mind," Stevens told the AP last week.
Huckabee argues that it was Tucker's decision to reduce DuMond's sentence that made him eligible for parole, and he maintains he had little — if any — role in his release. Still, Huckabee had publicly questioned DuMond's guilt and met privately with the state parole board.
What happened at that meeting has been the subject of debate. Two members of the board have said Huckabee pressured them for a vote. In a lengthy statement issued this week, Huckabee's campaign denied that he discussed DuMond's parole with the board but said he did talk with board members about the inmate's clemency request
I never said I supported Huckabee. But he isn't Clinton, so I don't believe any of the pardons were for payment or influence.
At what point do we lose any deterrance to crime through punishment/jail? Hell, lets just pardon everybody from the get-go and close all the jails, if we're in the forgiveness business. Pfft!
And look at the RATE of his pardons for crying out loud. Even the most forgiving governor better be able to recognize that crime must be punished and punishment must be served.
People with some contact to him get pardoned? Wow, whooda thunk it? You can’t pardon someone you’ve never heard of, and having some kind of personal contact method helps you hear of them.
Ex-employees, old school mates aside I suppose. Your logic leaves a lot to be desired. Why in the Sam Hill should we put up with this level of croney-ism from our elected officials? Here's my stand: I DON'T.
BLEEDING HEART LIBERAL TENDENCIES
Buddy, you can say that again. Count me OUT for voting in a soft on crime POTUS!
Crikey, this guy Huckabee is flat-out dangerous.
“I never said I supported Huckabee. But he isn’t Clinton, so I don’t believe any of the pardons were for payment or influence.”
Fair enough. soft on crime, but not corrupt decisions.
In the Glen Green case, where he freed a murderer, he didn’t follow standard protocols however. A preacher friend chats with him and that’s it. There is something disturbing about how it was done, even if it wasn’t corrupt.
http://travismonitor.blogspot.com/2007/12/huckabees-willie-hortons.html
” Gov. Huckabee probably never read the confession of a demented killer named Glen Green before he made the monster eligible for parole. Green’s confession is so depraved, its sadistic details so scary that no sane, responsible adult would consider him for parole. If the governor didn’t read the confession, he is guilty of dereliction of duty. But if he read the confession and still considers Green deserving of parole, he’s certainly unfit to hold office. ...
In usual fashion, Huckabee’s office didn’t even contact the victim’s family about the clemency.
Although he’s required to by the Constitution, the governor, as is his custom, won’t say why he granted clemency to this crazed killer (over the unanimous objections of the Post-Prison Transfer Board). “
“Stalin isn’t running”
Huck’s a slick, pro-life Jimmy Carter/John Edwards soft-on-crime tax-and-spend nanny-stater. I would never compare him with Stalin.
Stalin is who we face in the general (aka Hillary). :-)
“who’s your next choice?”
These are the GOP choices that are better than Mike Huckabee, in approximate order of preference, YMMV:
1. Mitt Romney
2. Fred Thompson
3. Duncan Hunter
4. Tom Tancredo
5. John McCain
6. Rudy Guiliani
7. Ron Paul
Yup. As of today, I’ve decided that even Ron Paul would make a better President than Mike Huckabee. A small-Govt Constitutionalist isolationist beats a nanny-state ‘compassionate’ populist.
There's a difference between cronyism and the news of a supposedly deserving person getting to him through that route. Honestly, I don't know why, but I think Huckabee is above such corruption. Maybe we're still cynical after Clinton's pardons.
I believe Huckabee has a very strong sense of morality, but it is in contention with an equally strong sense of mercy. Both are admirable attributes, but he apparently doesn't have the wisdom to apply them appropriately.
That's probably what did it, preacher to preacher. The preacher probably thought Green was "saved," and Huckabee believed him. He's just too merciful and trusting, to the point of being naive. Makes you wonder what he'd do if we caught Osama.
“The preacher probably thought Green was “saved,” and Huckabee believed him.”
I prefer how GWB handled the ‘saved’ woman murderer who had killed an innocent with an ice pick. No reprieve from the death penalty. If they are saved, God will take care of them in the next life.
“Makes you wonder what he’d do if we caught Osama.”
With Huck, there’s no Gitmo and waterboarding is off the table. Shades of Jimmy Carter.
“Honestly, I don’t know why, but I think Huckabee is above such corruption.”
I don’t know why either, since that’s at variance with the facts.
Let’s go with the facts:
http://therealmikehuckabee.blogspot.com/
Soliciting gifts from public: “Gov. Mike Huckabee and his wife, Janet, are registered for home furnishing gifts at Target and Dillard’s department stores as they prepare to leave the Governor’s Mansion in January and move into a house they recently purchased in North Little Rock. “
http://realmikehuckabee.blogspot.com/
http://realmikehuckabee.blogspot.com/2007/12/meet-huckster-san-diego-union-tribune.html
“Meet the Huckster
San-Diego Union-Tribune Editorial
December 3, 2007
(Excerpted, click here to read the rest)
Nearly two years into history’s longest presidential campaign, Americans have already heard a bit about the pros and a lot about the cons of all the major candidates.
(snip)
Unfortunately for Huckabee, the positive first impression he often makes fades when you learn more about him. He may have been a solid steward in his 14 years as lieutenant governor and governor in Arkansas. But he also showed an enthusiasm for parlaying his public office into a cushy lifestyle that makes Fabian NÚñez, California’s similarly inclined Assembly speaker, look like a Boy Scout.
Over the years, Huckabee has:
-Used campaign funds to pay himself $14,000 for being his own media consultant.
-Used campaign funds to pay himself $43,000 for use of his private plane while attempting to hide what the payment was actually in return for.
-Used an account set up to cover operational costs of the governor’s mansion to pay such obviously personal expenses as fast-food and dry-cleaning bills.
-Set up a nonprofit organization that paid him $23,500 without disclosing the source of the money.
-Attempted to take $70,000 of furniture with him when moving out of the governor’s mansion.
-Took more than 130 gifts worth more than $300,000 – while suing to overturn a law that made him disclose the gifts.
We could go on in this vein, but space is limited. The bottom line: Mike Huckabee has an awful lot of explaining to do. And neither voters nor the national media should let the man Arkansas journalists call the “Huckster” get away with pretending that tough questions over his tawdry ethics record amount to mudslinging. “
One more reason pops up every day:
Huck’s gone “Jimmah” on us on foreign policy .... from NRO via Redstate ...
“This is the kernel of Huckabee’s foreign policy. He wants to anthropomorphize international relations and bring a Christian commitment to the Golden Rule to our affairs with other nations. As he told the Des Moines Register the other day, “You treat others the way you’d like to be treated. That’s to me the fundamental issue that has to be re-established in our dealings with other countries.”
This is deeply naïve. Countries aren’t people, and the world is more dangerous than a Sunday church social. Threats, deception, and — as a last resort — violence must play a role in international relations. Differences cannot always be worked out through sweet persuasion. A U.S. president who doesn’t realize this will repeat the experience of President Jimmy Carter at his most ineffectual.”
Another Huckabee corruption story:
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives2/2007/12/019240.php
Gee, maybe he should have been vetted *before* he became the SoCon stand-in.
Sounds more like a hypocrisy story. Makes me even happier that he's not my pick.
So much for my somewhat rosy image of him. Definitely not the Huckster.
Taking this at the level he likes to address things(my soul won’t let me ...WTH?!?!?) Jesus promised the repentant criminal on the cross next to His that he would be with him in Heaven, he did not let him down off the cross.
They left out Glen Green who beat an 18-year-old woman with Chinese martial-arts sticks, raped her raped her because her body was still warm, ran over her with his car, then dumped her in the bayou, her hand reaching up, as if begging for mercy. Rev. Johnny Jackson, interim pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Jacksonville, called the rape/murder an accident, and Huckabee turned Green loose.
http://www.arkansasleader.com/frontstories/st_07_21_04/huckabee5.html
Sorry Mike, I can not vote for a bleeding heart serial pardoner of convicted criminals.
“Please read the article!
A pastor who promoted Huckabee among blacks urged the governor to grant clemency to John Henry Claiborne, who was sentenced to 100 years for a 1994 armed robbery, according to a 2004 report in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Huckabee made Claiborne eligible for parole after receiving a letter from the Rev. Charles Williams, who told the newspaper he had helped win “many, many” clemencies from Huckabee.”
Well, it looks like Huck will take orders from his fellow pastors, at least when it comes to pardons. This kind of stuff, plus his ‘Jesus wants me to be president’ makes me think he wants a theocracy in America, a de facto one at least.
Elwood: They’re not gonna catch us. We’re on a mission from God. ...
Hate to pile on, but now I see this on race42008.com ...
#87 - you said: “does that include trashing government hardrives before leaving office?”
What’s ironic is that Huckabee was criticizing the destruction of the CIA information because he said it was obviously an attempt to cover someone’s rear - but yet he destroyed close to $500,000 of government hard drives when he left the governorship of Arkansas.
“The less you know about Huckabee, the more you like him.”
Funny, how those from arkansas, when presented with something they’ve done, casts the blame on someone else, ie, slick, his ?frau and now hickabee.
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