Records: Ex-Miss. Gov. Barbour pardons nearly 200

[FourScore]

Records: Ex-Miss. Gov. Barbour pardons nearly 200

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — In his final days as Mississippi governor, Republican Haley Barbour gave pardons or early release to nearly 200 people, including more than two dozen whose crimes were listed as murder, manslaughter or homicide, state records show.

A list released by the Mississippi Secretary of State's office on Tuesday showed some of the convicted killers were pardoned, while others were given medical or conditional releases. He had released five other convicted killers in 2008. One of them had been granted a conditional release earlier and was pardoned this time.

Relatives of crime victims had voiced outrage Monday after it was revealed that Barbour had pardoned four convicted murderers. Those men had worked at the Governor's Mansion as part of a prison trusty program...

SNIP

...The former inmates are David Gatlin, convicted of killing his estranged wife in 1993 as she held a baby; Joseph Ozment, convicted in 1994 of killing a man during a robbery; Anthony McCray, convicted in 2001 of killing his wife; Charles Hooker, sentenced to life in 1992 for murder; and Nathan Kern, sentenced to life in 1982 for burglary after at least two prior convictions...

http://news.yahoo.com/records-ex-miss-gov-barbour-pardons-nearly-200-003747164.html

[DCKit]

1. How many were brown people?

That's my only question.

Given that it's MS, I can only assume that the prison population is overwhelmingly comprised of people of color. How many of them got pardoned?

[FourScore]

2. That's actually a good question. n/t

[ddeclue]

3. Actually of the 4 convicted murderers mentioned as pardoned on CNN, 2 were black...

I don't get this one at all... maybe Haley is terminal and is trying to make up and get into heaven?

[DCKit]

4. What did Jesus say about greasy, obese, fat, white racist pols getting into Heaven?

Never mind. I remember.

[RB TexLa]

5. Pretty common thing for governors. They usually pardon all the ones who worked at the governor's

mansion.

[ddeclue]

6. really? I've never heard of it before ever...

it's usually the nephew of some big campaign contributor who got sent to jail for dealing drugs.

[exboyfil]

7. Many of these make sense

such as:

Nathan Kern, sentenced to life in 1982 for burglary after at least two prior convictions.

I got to wonder about these:

—Michael Graham, whose sentence Barbour suspended in 1998 and who was pardoned Tuesday. He was convicted of shooting his ex-wife in 1989 in downtown Pascagoula with a shotgun at point-blank range.

—Victor Collins, who was convicted of fatally beating his girlfriend, Peggy Campbell, in Marshall County in 1994 after Collins was released from jail on the larceny charges Campbell had filed against him.

The former inmates are David Gatlin, convicted of killing his estranged wife in 1993 as she held a baby; Joseph Ozment, convicted in 1994 of killing a man during a robbery; Anthony McCray, convicted in 2001 of killing his wife; Charles Hooker, sentenced to life in 1992 for murder.

Why the murderers were released is beyond me. This is a Republican?