Posted on 11/29/2009 8:19:40 PM PST by bigred08
The man wanted in this morning's shooting deaths of four Washington State police officers was granted clemency by then-Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee nine years ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at examiner.com ...
Huckabee is done, the crimes against this guy when Huckabee pardoned him were incredible, he was serving 60 years but facing another 100 years in follow on charges ...
I’ll tell you what...bet you that as of the moment it came out that this cop mass murderer’s sentence was commuted by Huck, Huck now knows he has no chance of winning the Presidency.
Between the commutation of his sentence in Arkansas, and the various other incidents that have happened since then, there are plenty of people to blame for this guy being out on the street. Apparently, after his commutation, he violated his parole and was returned to jail, only to have charges against him dropped by the district attorney in Arkansas - charges which would have resulted in the guy spending the rest of his original sentence in prison. There are more recent charges which should have put this guy back in prison also. Huckabee may have signed the commutation order, but others also dropped the ball on this one.
The Democrats in WA are pushing restorative justice and rehabilitation. They are closing prisons and setting up halfway programs for prisoners. The handling of this guy fits right in with the current thinking of the far let governance in WA.
Had Huckabee not let this violent criminal free in the first place he would still be in prison in Arkansas. So Huckabee is definitely responsible for letting this sociopath free to rape and murder again.
Of course you can hang it on him.
This maggot would’ve never been in the state of Washington or seen the light of day if not for Huckabee commuting his sentence in Arkansas.
Did plenty of others mess up, too?
Sure.
That changes nothing about the fact that his original crimes were in Arkansas; he would’ve rotted in jail but Huckabee commuted his sentence.
Of course you can hang it on him.
He wouldn’t have a had a chance to commit the crimes you mention if Huckabee hadn’t granted clemency.
It lies at huck’s feet.
SZ
Huckabee is toast.
I’m thrilled.
Huckabee’s leniency would DEFINITELY be a problem if he were to run.....he will NOT.
Liberals never want to take responsibility for their mistakes. Let's hear the libs disavow the restorative justice that Huckabee was operating under. They won't.
I can’t say that I’m disappointed that he’s not going to run........
He had just lost a ton of weight and said he was for a "National program for mandatory physical fitness".
It's too bad that a lot of good and decent people get sucked in by a candidate solely because of their religious affiliations, race, ethnicity etc.
If that were the case for me, then I would have voted for Dukakis as I am a 100% descendent of Greek ancestry and a Greek Orthodox Christian.
It still amazes and saddens me how many people I meet here in Georgia, that despise Jimmy Carter as a political figure but still qualify it by saying "at least he was from Georgia", or "at least he was a God-fearing man", or both.
No, had huckabee let him serve out his sentence instead of granting clemency he would still be in jail in Arkansas. Every other victim after his release is on Huckabee’s hands. Huckabee released this sociopath against the recommendations of quite a few people. Don’t forget this isn’t the first of his released violent felons to rape and murder.
Now, since then, the guy has done plenty else and been in custody numerous times, so those instances also bear part of the burden...but the fact is, none of them would have happened had Huckabee not shown an absolutely, and IMHO, deluded, sense of compassion to such an individual, which ignored the true place that the compassion needed to be directed...and that was at the victims he had already injured and the potential victims he would injure if he was set free.
You don’t get it, Huckabee was operating under restorative justice and released the guy under the recommendation of the parole board because of the man’s youth at the time of conviction.
Since then, the man has been a constant re-offender and was a fugitive from Arkansas, yet WA state had arrested him eight more times and let him go eight times, even though he was still facing those charges. If you are going to condemn Huckabee’s actions, you must also condemn WA state’s handling of the man, which was much more recent. You must condemn the thinking that put this man back on the street so many times.
From Michelle Malkin’s site:
Clemmons criminal history includes at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington. The record also stands out for the number of times he has been released from custody despite questions about the danger he posed.
Clemmons had been in jail in Pierce County for the past several months on a pending charge of second-degree rape of a child.
He was released from custody just six days ago, even though he was wanted on a fugitive warrant out of Arkansas and was staring at eight felony charges in all out of Washington state.
Huckabee confused his position as governor with his former occupation. He let many violent criminals loose.
It goes back to the lack of good judgment.
http://www.arkansasleader.com/frontstories/st_06_23_04/huckabee.html
Huckabee, prosecutors go on offensive
___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 more to keep prisoners behind bars to which Pulaski County Prosecuting Attor-ney Larry Jegley had this response: “That’s a load of baloney.”
___ “I’m offended as a prosecutor and as a citizen. He can blame the prosecutors, but ultimately he’s the man responsible,” Jegley says. “He’s the only one who can sign on the dotted line.
___ “All he has to do is look in the mirror and say, ‘I let (convicted rapist) Wayne DuMond go free who then killed at least once and probably twice.’”
___ Jegley says the governor ignores the will of the people when he reduces a life sentence without parole that was handed down by a jury.
___ “He has obviously disregarded the jury’s decision. It’s a crying shame that a sitting governor would be so insensitive to victims’ right and disregard the system,” says Jegley, who points to several clemency cases where felons went free and then committed more crimes.
___ In addition, Jegley, Saline County Prosecuting Attorney Robert Herzfeld and others have accused Huckabee of violating the state Constitution when he commutes sentences without explanation. The Constitution requires the governor to give reasons why he grants clemency to criminals.
___ “He doesn’t do it,” insists Herzfeld, who recently had a clemency overturned because Huckabee did not explain why he commuted a murderer’s life sentence.
and there’s more at the link...
Yep, PKM...I remember it well! Note, in this thread already there are those that think ‘huck’ should not be blamed for the criminal acts of a murderer that was pardoned nine years ago...even though it was ‘huck’ that did it!!
This is NOT a question of which came first, the chicken or the egg!!! Geez!!!
Probably...since it seems that attack ad is on EVERY thread on FR now...or least EVERY thread I have opened in the past few days!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.