http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/201 ... ississippi
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.





