E-mails show Washington state battled to keep Clemmons in custody

The Seattle Times ^ | December 2, 2009 | Jonathan Martin, Jim Brunner and Ken Armstrong

[Stoat]

When Maurice Clemmons, the man suspected of killing four Lakewood police officers, walked free from a Pierce County jail last week, it wasn't for lack of effort on the part of Washington officials to keep him behind bars.

Documents released Tuesday show that a wide variety of state and local officials — everyone from prosecutors to sheriff's deputies to corrections officers — viewed Clemmons as a dangerous man, and wanted desperately to keep him in custody.

But Washington officials encountered resistance from an unlikely source — their correctional colleagues in Arkansas. The acrimony has since become so intense, according to Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer, that if the two states were adjacent a "border war" would break out.

The dispute now centers on whether a warrant issued by Arkansas in October would have allowed Washington authorities to prevent Clemmons' release from the Pierce County Jail six days before the shootings occurred. Arkansas says yes. Washington says no.

(edit)

"I'm concerned that you have no problem releasing your offender into our community, based on his behavior," she wrote. "I thought ICAOS was all about community safety."

(edit)

[Stoat]

My apologies for the severe editing of this article....this was done in order to remain in compliance with Free Republic rules pertaining to the posting of articles from The Seattle Times.  Please click on the main article link to see the full story.

 

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Thanks to Michelle Malkin for the Tweet.

[Stoat]

A completely preventable mass murder of some of Washington State’s Finest

[UAConservative]

The more liberal State of Washington does a better job for keeping this guy in the slammer than the RINO Huckabee. Very sad indeed.

[Frantzie]

Kudos to the people in WA who tried to keep this monster off the street. I hope I never see or hear Huckabee’s voice ever again. Another stinking RINO like McCain, Newt, Graham-nesty, Crist, Dede, et al.

[21twelve]

Lots of blame being put on Arkansas - and perhaps rightly so. But what about OUR (WA) laws and judges and prosecuters.

The guy has 8 charges against him. One including hitting a deputy, and then yelling at the cops “I’ll kill all you bi*&*&%!!”

Then, in jail accused of child rape. (Children rape? It was an 11 year old and a 12 year old that he abused).

So he’s facing life in prison (3 strikes law) and they let him out if he can scrounge up $15k? They are nuts.

[Deo volente]

Don’t forget Romney, Giuliani, and the governor of California with the last name I can never spell correctly.

[zeestephen]

I live in Seattle, and I don’t see how Washington state’s justice system gets a free pass on this.

This man was a convicted felon with a verifiable history of violence and parole violations.

Yet, after a court ordered mental evaluation, after assaulting a police officer, and after sexually assaulting a minor, bail was set at $190,000?

Wow, that’s nuts.

The only winner in this tragedy is the bail bondsman, who scored $19,000 for three days of work.

[amom]

For the record:

“...Clemmons was arrested in Washington on July 1. The following day he was formally charged with second-degree rape of a child — the eighth felony charge filed against him in Washington this year alone. All eight of those charges traced to a spree of violence in May and were still pending against Clemmons while the two states tangled over how to deal with him.

Arkansas had an interest in Clemmons because he remained on parole in that state. Convicted of at least five felony charges, Clemmons served more than 10 years in Arkansas’ prison system before being released in 2004 and moving to Washington.

When Clemmons landed in trouble in May 2009, Arkansas issued a warrant for violating the conditions of his parole. This warrant, if enforced, would have allowed Washington to keep Clemmons in jail without chance of posting bond.

But on July 16, an Arkansas official notified the Washington State Department of Corrections (DOC) that Arkansas was rescinding its warrant.

Marjorie Owens, a Washington DOC administrator, wrote a blistering response on July 23, saying Arkansas’ decision appeared to violate the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision (ICAOS), an agreement governing how states treat one another’s offenders who are on supervision....”

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010400203_shootingdoc02m.html?cmpid=2727

[Frantzie]

Rudy is RINO-Lite and not a bad guy compared to the others. He cleaned up NY city and crime went down.

Mitt - well he did help Michelle Bachmann when the GOP cut her money off when she said something about Islam. This was in the 2008 election. She also got help from Rush, Savage and other talk show hosts who mentioned it and people around the nation donated to help her.

Arnuld is an idiot.

[MediaMole]

Are you sure the bondsman won’t have to cough up the rest of the bond? Clemmens did violate the terms of his bail.

[Hugin]

The more liberal State of Washington does a better job for keeping this guy in the slammer than the RINO Huckabee.

Really? Arkansas let an armed robber out on parole after serving ten years. Washington let the guy who had since violated his parole and raped two kids out PENDING TRIAL.

Obviously in hindsight Huckabee's clemency was a mistake, but he didn't know that he was going to violate his parole and rape two kids, and didn't let him out immediately, he made him eligable for parole. The judge in WA knew about it and let him out anyway. How exactly is that doing a better job?

[Hugin]

Bail bondsmen are responsible to see the person appears court, period. They are not responsible for what their clients do while out. If they were, there would be no bail bondsmen.

[SuperLuminal]

Waiting for FOX to step up and cancel this POS’s program....

[Just Lori]

My heart is so heavy. This didn’t have to happen. All I can do is trust that God has it all under control.

[jonrick46]

From the Seattle Times article:

"A document released by Arkansas Tuesday says the warrant "was recalled at the request of [Arkansas Department of Community Correction] director G. David Guntharp after conversations he had with the offender's wife and mother." But Guntharp, in an interview, said he does not recall discussing the matter with Clemmons' family. Clemmons' mother died years ago."

It looks like the incompetence of G. David Guntharp started the ball rolling to allow this loose cannon, Maurice Clemmons, to get out on bail from the molestation of two young girls. This is a photo of G. David Guntharp, Director of the Arkansas Department of Community Correction (DCC):

[Just Lori]

And THAT, my FRiend is why the families should have every right to sue the state! The 3 strikes LAW was NOT followed, used, enforced, or even considered, it seems.

[billclintonwillrotinhell]

Waiting for FOX to step up and cancel this POS’s program....

Judging from O'Reilly's softball interview with Huck, it may be a long wait. Fox News Channel needs to realize that its credibility will take a pounding over this - not just with the typical liberals who are always whining about conservative viewpoints making it onto the air, but also with conservatives who are mad as hell about Huckabee's clemency record and arrogance. The longer Fox News Channel makes excuses for Huckabee and keeps him on their payroll, the lower Fox News will sink in credibility to report "fair and balanced" news.

[Just Lori]

Waiting for FOX to step up and cancel this POS’s program....

Don't hold your breath. Even FOX has a "good ol' boys" club.

[truth_seeker]

“Waiting for FOX to step up and cancel this POS’s program....”

Huckabee is a slick talker, radio announcer, then a preacher, then governor, now TV talker.

Always a talker.

His judgement as a leader is down the toilet. But he can still talk, so maybe TV will be forgiving of him.

These governors need to understand they will pay the heaviest political price, for every decision to shorten prison times, or release people.

Huckabee is a good first example.

[4woodenboats]

Granted, Clemmons should absolutely not have been paroled in the 1st place, but going by the timeline, he was a WATF! resident when he raped those kids and was granted bail. All the blankets, towels, and depends in the Seattle Slimes's lockers aren't going to cover up the fact that it was a WATF! justice system that turned that monster loose on the public this time.

There is no excuse for not knowing his record, and it is not Arkansas' job to see that everyone here does their job.

The Slimes's slithering to the Gargoyle Administration's rescue is predictable, well practiced, and particularly disgusting.