Giving pardons under the wire

OPENNESS NEEDED ON PARDONS

WHEN FORMER MISSISSIPPI governor Haley Barbour granted pardons or suspended sentences to Eleventh-hour more than 200 prison inmates during pardons of his final days in office, he engaged in a some presidential and gubernatorial inmates tradition. could be It’s a tradition that often draws easier to criticism because of who is pardoned accept if the and the fact that it is done while the veil of president or governor is heading out secrecy was the door. lifted. Without having to face re - election, the pardoner can’t be held accountable by the electorate — unless he decides to run for office again.

Barbour is catching heat for giving pardons or early release to more than 200 inmates, including 29 whose crimes were listed as murder, manslaughter or homicide, state records show.

State Atty. Gen. Jim Hood convinced a Circuit Court judge Wednesday to grant a temporary injunction to block the release of 21 inmates who had been given pardons or medical release.

Hood argued that Barbour violated the state constitution by not giving adequate public notice before inmates were released. The notices are designed to make victims and their families aware that the felon is being freed.

Barbour countered that most of those given a pardon were no longer in custody.

Barbour is a Republican and Hood is a Democrat, but this is not a partisan issue. Presidents and governors on both sides of the political aisle have been roundly criticized at times for their last- days-in- office pardons, including presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

One of the biggest pardon scandals in the nation occurred in Tennessee in 1979 when governor- elect Lamar Alexander was sworn in three days early to prevent outgoing governor Ray Blanton from commuting the sentences of any more prisoners.

Alexander’s move came amid a criminal investigation into accusations that state employees were selling and extorting money for pardons, paroles or commutations.

There has been no suggestion of any improper motives in Barbour’s actions. He may have had solid information supporting his decision to grant each of the pardons and releases.

But one of the problems with these presidential and gubernatorial actions is that they’re usually done under a veil of secrecy as the office holder is walking out of the door. When the public finds out, it’s usually too late to do anything about it. That’s something that needs to change on the state and federal level.

More important, the crime victims and the families of victims killed by criminals should be heard before felons are released.