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Just before he left office this week, outgoing Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) issued more than 200 pardons or sentence reductions — including more than a dozen to persons convicted of murder, manslaughter or other death-related crimes...

David Gatlin, convicted of fatally shooting his estranged wife in 1993 as she held her baby and wounding her friend; Joseph Ozment, convicted in 1994 of killing a man during a robbery; Anthony McCray, convicted in 2001 of killing his wife; Charles Hooker, sentenced to life in 1992 for murder...

David Gatlin ... was convicted of killing his estranged wife Tammy Gatlin in 1993 while she held their child. Tammy's friend Randy Walker was also in the house. Walker says Gatlin then turned the gun on him.

" 'When I came to about 45 minutes later, this 6 week old baby was still laying in a puddle of blood on top of its mother's body. This guy didn't care enough to ever remove the baby from the body of its mother and put it in a safe spot. That just kind of shows where this guy's head is.'

"When Walker got word Gatlin was being released, he says he questioned Barbour's judgement. At the very least, Walker says he deserves an explanation.

" 'How is my life and the life of Tammy's parents and family and the people in Mississippi, how are we better off today than we were Friday prior to this pardon? How are we better off? How did we serve the best interests of Mississippi? I feel like Governor Barbour single-handedly circumvented the entire justice system.

OL FU wrote:I haven't looked, but has any explanation been offered of why he did this

89Hen wrote:

OL FU wrote:I haven't looked, but has any explanation been offered of why he did this

He was a big fan of Bill Clinton.

89Hen wrote:

OL FU wrote:I haven't looked, but has any explanation been offered of why he did this

He was a big fan of Mike Huckabee.

Cluck U wrote:Let's make a new rule: if anyone pardons anyone or submits their name for a pardon, those folks get to have those pardoned individuals live next door to them for 10 years. After all, if these people are so worthy of our trust that they can safely be put back into society, it should be the people who make the decision to pardon them that are the first to welcome them back as neighbors.

BlueHen86 wrote:The explanation that I heard was that most of them were already out of prison and cleansing their records will make it easier for them to get jobs.

Stupid if true.

dbackjon wrote:So yeah, let's make sure convicted felons can buy guns without a problem...

dbackjon wrote:

BlueHen86 wrote:The explanation that I heard was that most of them were already out of prison and cleansing their records will make it easier for them to get jobs.

Stupid if true.

Outgoing Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour's unconditional pardons for several convicted murderers still serving prison sentences - among more than 200 acts of clemency in all - was an unusually bold use of executive power, legal experts said on Thursday.

Barbour's pardons, issued in his last days in office, included more than three dozen cases involving violent deaths, including drunken driving accidents, manslaughter, and murder.

While most of the Republican governor's pardons were granted to defendants who had already finished serving their sentences, 26 current inmates were also given pardons, including several convicted in killings.

http://www.wnep.com/sns-rt-us-usa-missi ... 4744.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

grizzaholic wrote:

dbackjon wrote:So yeah, let's make sure convicted felons can buy guns without a problem...

It isn't hard to buy a gun dback. Hate to break that news to ya. Felon or not. Open up the paper and look in the classifieds, make phone call, show up, buy gun. SIMPLE.

dbackjon wrote:

BlueHen86 wrote:The explanation that I heard was that most of them were already out of prison and cleansing their records will make it easier for them to get jobs.

Stupid if true.

Outgoing Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour's unconditional pardons for several convicted murderers still serving prison sentences - among more than 200 acts of clemency in all - was an unusually bold use of executive power, legal experts said on Thursday.

Barbour's pardons, issued in his last days in office, included more than three dozen cases involving violent deaths, including drunken driving accidents, manslaughter, and murder.

While most of the Republican governor's pardons were granted to defendants who had already finished serving their sentences, 26 current inmates were also given pardons, including several convicted in killings.

http://www.wnep.com/sns-rt-us-usa-missi ... 4744.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;