In 1988, Mike Dukakis was considered unfit for president (and deservedly so) for the same exact reason. Being a religious conservative does not mitigate the fact that when it comes to crime, Huckabee is a bleeding heart who put his own personal beliefs (of redemption) above the public safety of the citizens he swore to protect.
That’s the point, isn’t it? This case, like Willy Horton with Dukakis, simply reinforces a weakness he was already perceived to have—otherwise it wouldn’t have such power and resonance. Further, Huck’s sanctimony on this issue only feeds into a larger perception of his moral preening getting in the way of making ‘commonsense conservative’ choices when presented with hard facts.