Beebe’s son among 12 on pardon list
Gov. Mike Beebe on Friday announced the names of a dozen people he plans to pardon, including his son.
The outgoing Democratic governor said last month that he would follow the Arkansas Parole Board’s recommendation to pardon his son, Kyle Beebe, of a drug felony.
By state statute, the governor must wait 30 days after announcing his intentions before an actual pardon can be granted.
Beebe’s son was 22 when White County sheriff’s deputies discovered more than an ounce of marijuana at his rural home in 2003. He was found guilty of felony possession of marijuana and was sentenced to probation.
Like the other 11 who are set for pardons, Kyle Beebe fulfilled all of the conditions of his release.
Beebe administration officials said the governor’s son
had been reluctant to request the pardon for some time but that pardons for drug crimes are consistent with Beebe’s belief in second chances for some offenders.
Of the 12 people listed to get pardons, eight had drug-related offenses. None drew objections from local law enforcement officials.
Beebe also denied 11 requests for clemency.
On Friday, Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said the governor has moved no closer to granting a pardon to Michael Jackson, a convicted sex offender who is a former Pee Wee football player on a team the governor had coached.
Beebe announced in early November that he intended to pardon Jackson — a friend of Kyle Beebe’s growing up — who was convicted of Internet stalking of a child in 2008 after a 2007 sting set up by police in Conway pretending to be a teenage girl.
The announcement, along with Jackson’s intentions to become a coach or a teacher, drew criticism from the Faulkner County sheriff and prosecutor, as well as central Arkansas legislators.
A filing in a years-old custody case then prompted the governor to freeze his recommendation.
The father involved in the custody case, Kevin Casteel, said the child’s mother, Christina Casteel, was dating Jackson and that Jackson was often around their son, was known to be selling drugs and had exposed himself to others.
Christina Casteel denied the allegations, saying Jackson was merely an acquaintance and Kevin Casteel had used recent news reports about Jackson as a vehicle to winning full custody of their child.
In a recent court filing in the custody case, Christina Casteel argued that she confronted her child’s father and asked why he would make such hurtful allegations.
“When confronted … [Kevin Casteel] made up a fantastical tale of being forced to do it by ‘government agents’ because the Governor, a Faulkner County Judge, and Michael Jackson were all involved in a criminal conspiracy,” the filing said.
DeCample said the governor was not involved in any such “conspiracy.”
He did not offer a timeline of when Beebe’s office might take further action on Jackson’s pardon request.