Not Willie Horton
I have seen the Dumond fiasco called Huckabee’s Willie Horton. Actually, it’s far worse.
Just in case you’ve been living under a rock, Huckabee lobbied the Arkansas parole board to release Dumond, a convicted rapist. They did, and Dumond raped and murdered two women. So far, it’s Horton-esque.
Huckabee first claimed that it was Clinton. Oops, wrong. An aide who worked for him said no, it was Huckabee. Now, members of the parole board are confirming that yes, Huckabee lobbied them to release this animal on parole.
The timeline (with more details) can be found here.
But it doesn’t stop there.
Thanks to Dan Riehl, I found this article in the Arkansas Leader:
If you’re wondering how Gov. Huckabee’s hundreds of clemencies compare with neighboring states, get ready for a shocker.
Huckabee leads the pack.
He has issued more commutations and pardons than all of the six neighboring states combined.
Governors seldom reduce sentences in other states – and almost never for murderers serving life without parole or for rapists or for habitual drunk drivers, while in Arkansas it’s a regular habit with Huckabee.
Other governors use their clemency power only rarely, while Huckabee has made it routine. As we’ve told you before, he has issued more than 700 pardons and commutations during his eight years in office – more than 137 this year alone – and more than his three predecessors combined.
Here are the figures for neighboring states since 1996, when Huckabee took office (and keep in mind the population of these states is nearly 20 times ours):
>> Louisiana – 213.
>> Mississippi – 24.
>> Missouri – 79.
>> Oklahoma – 178.
>> Tennessee – 32.
>> Texas – 98 (in-cludes 36 inmates released because they were convicted on drug charges with planted evidence).Total: 624 vs. Huckabee’s 703.
Governors in neighboring states almost never grant killers clemency, while Huckabee has commuted the sentences of a dozen murderers.
And according to this article, Huckabee refused to justify his clemencies.
This isn’t Willie Horton. This is far worse. This is a pattern. I don’t question Huckabee’s faith, or morals, or character. I do question his judgment, and although I didn’t think it possible, I think he’s even less fit to be the Commander-in-Chief than I had before.
This needs to be covered extensively. Fortunately, it’s already started, first on Good Morning America, and now, by MSNBC. At least one blog has made a very lame attempt to defend Huckabee and call into question the motivations of the networks.
Me, I don’t care what the motivations are, just as long as this story gets maximum coverage.
Joubert Conlon:
So much for “compassionate conservatism.” No wonder Huck wants amnesty for illegals. I just read yesterday (can’t remember where) that Huck won election with 42% of the black vote in Arkansas despite being a Republican. That’s because he’s really a Democrat.
December 7, 2007, 5:55 pmDave:
For a detailed list of Huckabee’s clemency record with cited sources, see this published letter from an Arkansas Republican - 7 Reasons Conservatives Should Take Another Look at Huckabee.
http://reasonandrevelation.blogspot.com/2008/01/evans-not-hearting-huckabee.html
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