Mississippi has decided that letting prisoner trusties work in the governor’s mansion might not be such a good idea after all. The decades-old tradition drew national attention recently after it became known that, over his two terms in office, former Gov. Haley Barbour had pardoned eight convicted killers who'd worked as trusties there; the pardons themselves drew national outrage.
A spokesman for new Gov. Phil Bryant said Thursday marked the last day that inmates would work as trusties at the mansion -- a plum assignment for prisoners as it involved spending the night on the grounds of the stately, white-columned antebellum landmark in Jackson. The news was reported by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger.
Bryant did not elaborate further, but he has said in the past that he is sensitive to victims' rights because his aunt was kidnapped, raped and murdered in 1981. Her assailant is currently in prison.
Barbour, a prominent figure on the national Republican stage, is returning to work as a lobbyist. Over the course of his eight years in the governor's office, he pardoned eight convicted killers who'd worked as trusties in the mansion. Four of those pardons occurred earlier this year, and included one man who had been denied parole a few days earlier.
The pardons by Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chairman who considered running for president this year, generated debate about how much power a governor should have to pardon criminals convicted of serious crimes.
Barbour's office has said 90 percent of those receiving clemency were no longer in prison when the pardons were granted.
Typically, governors would offer a commutation to reduce the length of a sentence, rather than a full pardon, for convicts still in jail, experts said. A pardon restores certain civil rights, such as owning a gun or obtaining state licenses.
Since taking office, Bryant has met with leaders in the state legislature to craft legislation to limit the governor's authority to pardon inmates who committed violent crimes.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood obtained a court order to block the release of the 21 inmates still serving time who had been pardoned by Barbour.
He has also asked a court to void most of the pardons as more than three-quarters did not meet the constitutional requirement of having published notice of their request for clemency in local newspapers where the crimes were committed.
A spokesman for new Gov. Phil Bryant said Thursday marked the last day that inmates would work as trusties at the mansion -- a plum assignment for prisoners as it involved spending the night on the grounds of the stately, white-columned antebellum landmark in Jackson. The news was reported by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger.
Bryant did not elaborate further, but he has said in the past that he is sensitive to victims' rights because his aunt was kidnapped, raped and murdered in 1981. Her assailant is currently in prison.
Barbour, a prominent figure on the national Republican stage, is returning to work as a lobbyist. Over the course of his eight years in the governor's office, he pardoned eight convicted killers who'd worked as trusties in the mansion. Four of those pardons occurred earlier this year, and included one man who had been denied parole a few days earlier.
The pardons by Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chairman who considered running for president this year, generated debate about how much power a governor should have to pardon criminals convicted of serious crimes.
Barbour's office has said 90 percent of those receiving clemency were no longer in prison when the pardons were granted.
Typically, governors would offer a commutation to reduce the length of a sentence, rather than a full pardon, for convicts still in jail, experts said. A pardon restores certain civil rights, such as owning a gun or obtaining state licenses.
Since taking office, Bryant has met with leaders in the state legislature to craft legislation to limit the governor's authority to pardon inmates who committed violent crimes.
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood obtained a court order to block the release of the 21 inmates still serving time who had been pardoned by Barbour.
He has also asked a court to void most of the pardons as more than three-quarters did not meet the constitutional requirement of having published notice of their request for clemency in local newspapers where the crimes were committed.
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