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Here is video of a local news report out of Washington about suspected police killer Maurice Clemmons. The report includes a brief phone interview with an Arkansas prosecutor - Larry Jegley - who said former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee "granted clemency to a disturbing number of people," including a person named Maurice Clemmons "who should not have been let out." This report says Clemmons was serving a 95-year sentence in Arkansas when released. Other reports have said it was a 60-year sentence. The report says Gov. Huckabee has issued a statement which denounces the shootings, and places the blame on...

The Seattle Times reports that the man suspected of shooting four police officers in Washington State was granted clemency in Arkansas nine years ago by then-Governor Mike Huckabee. Huckabee had reportedly pardoned the suspected shooter, Maurice Clemmons, because he was just 17 when his original crimes were committed. (Clemmons was still on parole, and should apparently have been sent back to jail in Arkansas more recently.) But it's a tragic, and politically damaging story of the kind that, with the name Willie Horton attached, helped derail Mike Dukakis's bid for the White House.

___They trade jabs over sentencing, pardoning of killers, other thugs ___Several prosecutors around the state are upset with Gov. Huckabee for grant- ing clemency to violent criminals, but he is blaming the prosecutors for often not seeking the maximum penalty and keeping felons locked up longer. ___Until now, Huckabee has refused to comment on his controversial policy of making violent prisoners eligible for parole– they include murderers, armed robbers and rapists, who often return to a life of crime after they're freed – but in a statement to The Leader this week, he lashed out at prosecutors for not doing...

The man sought for questioning in the execution of four Lakewood police officers was granted clemency in 2000 by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and released on bail just six days ago on a child rape charge in Washington state. Maurice Clemmons, the 37-year-old Tacoma man being sought for questioning in the killing this morning of four Lakewood police officers, has a long criminal record punctuated by violence, erratic behavior and concerns about his mental health. Nine years ago, then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee granted clemency to Clemmons, commuting his lengthy prison sentence over the protests of prosecutors.

SEOUL (UCAN) -- A letter from the late Pope John Paul II, which saved the life of former President Thomas More Kim Dae-jung, has been made known to the public recently.   Former president Kim Dae-jung The late Pope sent the letter to then-South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan on Dec. 11, 1980, asking for "clemency" for Kim, a Catholic, who had been sentenced to death a week before.The National Archives of Korea (NAK) on May 18 revealed the contents of letter at the request of the "Kwangju Ilbo," the local daily newspaper in Gwangju (Kwangju).Former President Chun, who seized power in a...

Family members, friends and lawyers for convicted ex-Gov. George Ryan are pushing a plea for clemency during the final weeks of the Bush administration.

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/November/08-opa-1048.html President George W. Bush Grants Pardons and Commutations WASHINGTON - On Nov. 24, 2008, President George W. Bush granted pardons to 14 individuals and commutation of sentence to two individuals: PARDONS: · Leslie Owen Collier - Charleston, Mo. Offense: Unauthorized use of a registered pesticide, 7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(2)(F) and 136l(b); violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. § 668(a). Sentence: Feb. 2, 1996; Eastern District of Missouri; two years’ probation and $10,000 in restitution. · Milton Kirk Cordes - Rapid City, S.D. Offense: Conspiracy to violate the...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President George W. Bush's latest list of pardons does not include some high-profile criminals who still hope the president will grant them clemency in his final weeks in office. On Monday, Bush granted pardons to 14 individuals and commuted the prison sentences of two others whose misdeeds included dealing drugs, evading taxes, killing bald eagles or mishandling hazardous waste. The most recent batch, however, did not include any well-known convicts like junk bond dealer Michael Milken, who is seeking a pardon on securities fraud charges, or two politicians convicted of public corruption — former Rep. Randy "Duke"...

A new state rule in Florida calls for more than 115,000 former felons who complete their sentences to be given back their civil rights, including the right to vote, hold public office, serve on a jury, and obtain state and local licenses for certain types of work. The rule by the state’s Board of Executive Clemency ends a policy that, until now, required a panel to act individually on every restoration of rights requests. Florida Governor Charlie Crist – attending a two-day summit of state officials, lawmakers, community activists, prison ministers and others brainstorming ideas for keeping former inmates from...

The two former U.S. Border Patrol agents who were sentenced to prison terms of more than a decade each for shooting at a drug smuggler who dumped a load in the United States, then fled on foot back into Mexico rather than be arrested, must ask if they want clemency in their cases, according to the White House. "There is a process under which anyone can apply for a pardon or a commutation. And if they want to take advantage of that process, they're absolutely welcome to," Dana Perino, the White House spokeswoman, told WND today. She was responding to...

Hilarious video parody of one of the worst thorns in Huckabee's side. Click on the link to watch!

(snip) Over the course of his 10 1/2 years as governor, Huckabee granted a staggering 1,033 clemencies, according to the Associated Press. That was more than double the combined 507 that were granted during the 17 1/2 years of his three predecessors: Bill Clinton, Frank White, and Jim Guy Tucker. In many cases, Huckabee's actions set loose savage criminals convicted of grizzly murders over the passionate objections of prosecutors and victims' families. "I felt like Huckabee had more compassion for the murders than he ever did for the victims," Elaine Colclasure, co-leader of the Central Arkansas chapter of Parents of...

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...

Washington - The chief Democrat probing President George W Bush's decision to erase the prison sentence of a former White House aide said on Sunday there is "the suspicion" the aide might have fingered others in the Bush administration if he served time. House Judiciary Committee chair John Conyers spoke of "the general impression" that Bush last week commuted I Lewis "Scooter" Libby's 2½-year sentence in the CIA leak case to keep Libby quiet... Bush contended Libby's sentence was too harsh. Libby was convicted of lying and obstructing justice in an investigation into the leak of a CIA officer's identity.

Just as White House loyalists had begun arguing that clemency for I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby -- either a pardon or a commuted sentence -- would be a way for an embattled President Bush to reassert himself, particularly among conservatives, Paris Hilton has volunteered to serve Libby's sentence. "I am just getting what I deserve," said the born-again hotel heiress, "but Scooter has done nothing wrong! And, if he did, he should not serve any more time than Bill CLinton did for perjury!" Several Republicans said that it would be a good move for both Bush's and Hilton's sagging poll numbers.

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — A state judge spared the life of alleged neighbor-assaulter Lewis the cat on Tuesday, but ordered that he remain inside his owner's Fairfield home at all times. "There are no exceptions. None," said Judge Patrick Carroll, who also granted accelerated rehabilitation to Lewis' owner, Ruth Cisero. That means her record will be expunged if she successfully completes two years of probation. Cisero had faced a charge of reckless endangerment because neighbors complained that the cat's long claws and stealth have allowed it to attack at least a half-dozen people and ambush the Avon lady as she was...

SAN FRANCISCO Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has denied a request by an attorney for condemned inmate Michael Morales that the governor reconsider granting Morales a clemency hearing. Morales, 46, was convicted of the 1981 sexual assault and murder of 17-year-old Terri Winchell of Lodi, and is scheduled to die by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday. Schwarzenegger announced Friday that he had decided not to grant clemency to Morales, stating, "Morales' claim that he is a changed man does not excuse the brutal murder and rape of Terri Winchell." On Sunday, Kenneth Starr, who is one...

'American Taliban' Father Urges Clemency Jan 19 5:33 PM US/Eastern By MARTHA MENDOZA AP National Writer SAN FRANCISCO After years of silence, the father of American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh said Thursday he has asked President Bush to grant his son clemency, adding that the then teenager never raised arms against the United States. "In simple terms, this is the story of a decent and honorable young man embarked on a spiritual quest," said Frank Lindh, swallowing back tears at times during a speech at the Commonwealth Club, a nonprofit organization. John Walker Lindh, now 24, was captured by...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger denied clemency Friday to California's oldest condemned convict who asked to be spared because of his age and infirmities. Clarence Ray Allen, 75, who ordered the slayings of three people at a Fresno market while he was behind bars at Folsom State Prison in 1980, told Schwarzenegger that he was too old and frail to be put to death early Tuesday morning at San Quentin State Prison. "Allen's jury reasonably concluded that life in prison was not the appropriate punishment for someone who orders the killing of witnesses while already serving a term of...

What is it about the fate of convicted killer Stanley "Tookie" Williams that so engrossed the Hollyleft and Euroleft? A founder of the Crips – a Los Angeles criminal gang whose record of murder, rape and robbery makes Al Capone's Cicero crowd look like the Lavender Hill Mob – Tookie was convicted in 1979 of the cold-blooded killing of four innocent people in a pair of robberies. Albert Owens, a 26-year-old Whittier, Calif., 7-Eleven employee, was shotgunned to death. Days later, an elderly Asian couple who ran a motel, Yen-I Yang and Thsai-Shai Yang, and their 43-year-old daughter, Yee Chen...