Former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour's grants of commutations or pardons to more than 200 prisoners, all but eight in his final days in office, disproportionately benefited white offenders among a predominantly black prison population, a Reuters analysis found.
Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chairman, stirred an uproar in Mississippi last week by the surprise grants of clemency, which numbered far more than any of his recent predecessors' in a state where law and order are hallmarks of political rhetoric.
The list included full pardons for four convicted murderers and an armed robber who worked at the governor's mansion on prison work release. Most of the pardons were granted to convicts who had completed their prison sentences.
The list of 25 does not include the four convicted killers and the robber who worked as trusties at the Governor's Mansion and were freed by Barbour in his final days.
The Mississippi Department of Corrections made arrangements to publish notices for them and a handful of other inmates. But Hood said they didn't run for 30 days before Barbour signed the pardons. In one case, a newspaper didn't publish the notice at all because it never received payment.
A hearing is set for Monday in Hinds County Circuit Court on Hood's request to block dozens of pardons.
Barbour, a Republican who ended his second term Jan. 10, was strongly criticized by victims' families and state Democrats because some of the people he pardoned had been convicted of violent crimes. One trusty pardoned by Barbour was convicted of fatally shooting his estranged wife in 1993 as she held their baby and shooting her male friend in the head; the friend survived.
Hood, the lone Democrat in statewide office, challenged those pardons in court Jan. 11. He filed an amended complaint this week seeking to block dozens of other pardons.
Many of those people were convicted decades ago of comparatively minor crimes, like marijuana possession or burglary. They sought a pardon to clean up their records in hopes of getting better jobs, being able to vote, or just for the satisfaction of wiping out their criminal record. Some of the crimes for which people were pardoned date back to the 1960s and 1970s. Some haven't been in trouble since then. When they applied for a pardon, they usually met with the Parole Board to discuss what they needed to do.
Friday, Warnock responded to questions about people who told the AP they were afraid of losing their pardons even though they followed the board's advice.
Barbour, a former Republican National Committee chairman, stirred an uproar in Mississippi last week by the surprise grants of clemency, which numbered far more than any of his recent predecessors' in a state where law and order are hallmarks of political rhetoric.
The list included full pardons for four convicted murderers and an armed robber who worked at the governor's mansion on prison work release. Most of the pardons were granted to convicts who had completed their prison sentences.
The list of 25 does not include the four convicted killers and the robber who worked as trusties at the Governor's Mansion and were freed by Barbour in his final days.
The Mississippi Department of Corrections made arrangements to publish notices for them and a handful of other inmates. But Hood said they didn't run for 30 days before Barbour signed the pardons. In one case, a newspaper didn't publish the notice at all because it never received payment.
A hearing is set for Monday in Hinds County Circuit Court on Hood's request to block dozens of pardons.
Barbour, a Republican who ended his second term Jan. 10, was strongly criticized by victims' families and state Democrats because some of the people he pardoned had been convicted of violent crimes. One trusty pardoned by Barbour was convicted of fatally shooting his estranged wife in 1993 as she held their baby and shooting her male friend in the head; the friend survived.
Hood, the lone Democrat in statewide office, challenged those pardons in court Jan. 11. He filed an amended complaint this week seeking to block dozens of other pardons.
Many of those people were convicted decades ago of comparatively minor crimes, like marijuana possession or burglary. They sought a pardon to clean up their records in hopes of getting better jobs, being able to vote, or just for the satisfaction of wiping out their criminal record. Some of the crimes for which people were pardoned date back to the 1960s and 1970s. Some haven't been in trouble since then. When they applied for a pardon, they usually met with the Parole Board to discuss what they needed to do.
Friday, Warnock responded to questions about people who told the AP they were afraid of losing their pardons even though they followed the board's advice.
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