It sounded like you didn’t read it as you ignored key arguments. I also don’t know how “please read the article” is condescending and no, I don’t belong to the Mike Dukakis wing. Was Huckabee freeing murderers or are you just having fun blaming him for not having had a crystal ball at the time he freed a juvenile burglar whose most violent act came when he was 17 and facing a life sentence and who had behaved after that for 11 years? Why not blame the trial judge who supported the commutation? Do you have someone else who knew more about the case than he did.
I agree with the rest of what you say and yes, we do have a right to live free of murderers, attempted murderers and child rapists. That doesn’t mean that throwing the key away at teen burglars who were neither murderers or attempted murderers at the time is a sound policy or even a humane one.
“Was Huckabee freeing murderers or are you just having fun blaming him...”
It brings me no fun to criticize someone that I once respected.
Mr. Clemmons was a violent felon who committed:
- three assaults/robberies
- three burglaries
- a couple of weapons charges
over a course, from what I've read, of seven months. While incarcerated, he committed or attempted to commit at least three more violent crimes on three separate occasions.
A total of 26 years incarceration for the above seems reasonable, even a little on the light side.
Eleven years was a travesty of justice.
Considering his record, it wasn't too tough to figure out that Mr. Clemmons, released too soon, might likely commit more violent crimes. Someone like this should be incarcerated at least until age 50, perhaps 60 or 70. That violent rage runs deep, and is not usually spent before the latter part of middle age.
“I agree with the rest of what you say and yes, we do have a right to live free of murderers, attempted murderers and child rapists.”
That's not what I said. You speak falsely again.
We have a right to be free from VIOLENT OFFENDERS, of which Mr. Clemmons was one.
“That doesn’t mean that throwing the key away at teen burglars who were neither murderers or attempted murderers at the time is a sound policy or even a humane one.”
If all Mr. Clemmons had been guilty of was a few burglaries, then 15 years or so would have been an appropriate sentence. But he beat at least three people. To leave that out is to dissemble badly. You are clearly from the Michael Dukakis wing of the Republican Party, shading the truth in order to coddle violent criminals.
It is a bald-faced lie to say that he was sentenced to 108 years for a few burglaries. He was effectively sentenced to 26 years in prison for THREE VIOLENT OFFENSES and a series of other felonies.
For a three-time (at least) violent offender, with multiple burglaries, weapons charges, and violent incidents while in prison, 26 years years was a light sentence.
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