BREAKING: PARDONGATE KILLING

Reports out of Calhoun City this morning indicate that the Wayne Harris who shot and killed Chris McGonagill last night in Calhoun County is the same Wayne Harris who was pardoned by Gov. Barbour a year ago. Harris had been convicted of sale of marijuana, which made it illegal for him to carry a gun.

Redistricting statutes being ignored by Republican legislators?

Rep. Bill Denny (R-Jackson)

If you were like me, you thought Friday's article in the Clarion-Ledger regarding the current state of redistricting signaled that something fishy was going on.  In short, neither Rep. Bill Denny (R-Jackson) nor Sen. Merle Flowers (R-Southaven), the chairmen of the House and Senate committees on redistricting, would say a word about the process used to draw the new district lines.  Rep. Denny did say that the plans had been submitted to experts, but said he didn't know who those experts were (Sounds like he's got total control of the situation, if you ask me.).  Sen. Flowers wouldn't comment at all, and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves (R) said that the plans would be revealed in the next few weeks.

Does Bill Denny saying, "Take my word, I've drawn something" count?

It seems like the only bit of news the Republican leadership wanted to get out was that the maps were drawn.  Why would that be important?

Let me introduce you to Section 5-3-93 of the Mississippi Code:

The members of the committee shall draw a plan to apportion, according to constitutional standards, the membership of the Mississippi Senate and the Mississippi House of Representatives no later than fifteen (15) days prior to the scheduled adjournment of the next regular session of the Legislature following the delivery of the 2000 decennial census data to the state and every ten (10) years thereafter and at such other times as they may be directed by joint resolution of the Mississippi Legislature.

Provided, however, the committee shall not be required to present a plan to the Legislature prior to four (4) months after the publication of census data.

Well guess what Saturday was?  The 15th day prior to the scheduled adjournment of this legislative session.  That means that the plans had to have been drawn by the committee no later than Saturday.  The question then becomes, what it means for a committee to draw a plan?  This opens several lines of inquiry: Does it mean that the chairman of the committee can just put pen to paper?  And if that's the case, how do you know that the law has been satisfied if the maps are not released?  Or does it mean that a plan has to be voted upon by the committee?  It's almost a nonsensical requirement to force a committee to draw a map and not vote on it. And how does a "committee" draw a plan, anyway? By voting on it, I would presume.

So that's why Republicans were rushing to get the word out that they'd "drawn" maps.

111 Days and counting...

But the question of whether last Friday's dog and pony show passes the drawing test is not the only problem Republicans are facing with statutes governing reapportionment.  Check out Section 5-3-103 of the Mississippi Code:

Upon completion of apportionment plans, the committee shall present its plans to the Mississippi Legislature, which shall act on the plans not later than the next regular session of the legislature. The committees to which the plans are referred shall report their recommendations to their respective houses no later than the forty-fifth day of the legislative session.

This language would seem to give legislators another session in which to pass new maps, but the language of 5-3-93 mandates that a plan be passed this year.  (The statutory scheme seems to contemplate that the maps would have been drawn last year and voted on no later than this year.)  The problem 5-3-103 holds for Republicans is in the second sentence.  The 45th day of the legislative session was February 16, which was the deadline for making requests that general bills and constitutional amendments be drafted.  On that day, the House was busy tabling the motion to reconsider on the ALEC-style "Sunshine" Act, and the Senate was busy welcoming foreign investors interested in opening charter schools.

So with no maps voted on by the committees 14 days before sine die (the last day of the session), the new Republican leadership in the Legislature may be on thinning legal ice with regard to redistricting.  But as this group has shown time and time again, laws are for Democrats.

CNN blows doors off Barbour's pardon of drunk driver

Wow.  Just...wow.  Those of you who have followed Haley Barbour's Pardongate closely will recall the story of Harry Bostick, a three-time DUI offender who was sitting in jail on a probation revocation when pardoned by Haley Barbour.  The nutshell version is that Bostick had obtained his third DUI in five years, making him a felon.  He was on parole for his third DUI conviction (the felony for which he was pardoned) when he was involved in an accident in which Charity Smith of Okolona, Mississippi, was killed.  Of course, Bostick was driving drunk during the accident.

Despite national outcry, no changes likely to Mississippi's pardon process

When he ruled Amendment No. 1 to Senate Bill 2195 not germane to the legislation, Speaker Philip Gunn (R-Clinton) became the latest in a long line of Republicans who have have denied modification to Mississippi's pardon process, a process that drew nationwide scrutiny following then Governor Haley Barbour's pardon of hundreds of Mississippi felons in January.

Among the bills that were killed during the 2012 session were House Bill 27, a measure that would require the parole board to provide a non-binding recommendation on pending pardon requests; House Bill 29, a measure that would prevent murderers from serving as trustys; House Bill 36, a measure that would require pardon applicants to give notice to local law enforcement officials so that a public hearing could be arranged; and House Bill 182, a measure that would make certain offenders ineligible for additional earned time.

It will be interesting to see if Governor Barbour's pardons coupled with his party's unwillingness to work with Democrats to develop any meaningful reform will create problems for legislators in districts where some of the more notable crimes occurred. 

Randy Walker, a victim of one of the recipients of a Barbour pardon had this to say last week, "The elected officials sit in their air-conditioned offices and collect a check we provide.  They're not listening to the voice of Mississippi."  Expect to hear more statements like this one when legislators are back on the ballot.

Attorney General Hood sets the record straight on Barbour's attempt to shift blame for Pardongate; says Barbour is "a desperate man"

Here is the full text of a press release from the office of Attorney General Jim Hood:

It is unfortunate that former Governor Barbour has made some misrepresentations about the role of our attorney assigned to the Mississippi Department of Corrections. At no time did our Assistant Attorney General assigned to MDOC advise the Governor or any of his assistants that there was no requirement for publication. The comments by former Governor Barbour are a shameful attempt to deflect blame for his office’s failure to confirm that the requirements of the Constitution had been met.

First, the special assistant attorney general, David Scott, who the governor has supposedly relied upon, has only one client, the DOC; he is housed there and works together daily with the Commissioner of Corrections, Chris Epps. He is the MDOC lawyer. Scott is not counsel to the Governor who had his own three staff attorneys advising him.

On November 28, 2011, Scott texted Daryl Neely with the governor’s office and said, “please refer to Section 124 of Constitution regarding pardons and notice”. So, the governor and his staff and his attorneys were given the law at that time and had plenty of time to make sure publications were done properly before his term expired. So what did the governor and his staff do? Nothing. In fact, Daryl Neely told David Scott on November 29th that the governor’s staff had discussed the Constitutional publishing requirements and “decided it wasn’t necessary.”

Not until December 6, after 5:03 p.m., (31 days before the pardons were issued), did Neely text back to David Scott that ““top guy” wants to go ahead and run notices” for mansion trusties, and a few minutes later provided a list of names. The next day, December 7, 30 days before the pardons were actually issued, David Scott confirmed for his client, MDOC, that MDOC would take care of publication for the in-custody inmates. David Scott’s job was to advise MDOC, and their job is to run prisons, not to issue pardons.

Neither David Scott, nor the AG, nor any AG staff ever talked to an inmate or provided legal advice to an inmate. At the direction of DOC, David Scott did in fact refer the Governor’s Office to Section 124, which the Governor chose to ignore. Later, David Scott passed along the ‘Top Guy’s” last minute request that MDOC do the task of getting the publications done.

Finally, the Constitution puts the duty on the convict to make the newspaper publication, saying “no pardon shall be granted until the applicant therefor shall have published for thirty days, in some newspaper in the county where the crime was committed…his petition for pardon….” The failure to comply cannot be excused because the governor took it upon himself and an agency he controls to do the required publications, then botched the job. And his attempt to shift the blame for his failure to a career staff attorney for MDOC, who advised him well in advance of the law’s requirements, is shameful .

I am disappointed to see the former governor out in the national media making untrue statements. This is a sideshow by Tom Fortner and the former Governor to divert attention from the fact that the former Governor has loosed his favored murderers upon the public without any legal authority to do so. These untruths and mischaracterizations are indeed the sign of a desperate man.

Joseph Ozment found and served...in a Laramie, WY, hotel room under a fake name

Investigators with the Attorney General's office have found and served Joseph Ozment, the last remaining pardon recipient to be served with process in the Hinds County Circuit Court case involving Pardongate. Ozment was located in a Laramie, Wyoming, hotel room under an assumed name. According to Attorney General Hood, Ozment was driving his girlfriend's Mercedes-Benz when found, and hit an investigator with it as he tried to avoid service.

Ozment was serving a life sentence for killing a convenience store clerk during an armed robbery at the time of his pardon. Ozment had been serving that time at the Governor's Mansion as a trusty, which apparently came with quite a few privileges. (More on that to come in a separate post.)

Anyway, Ozment now has to check in with the Mississippi Department of Corrections every 24 hours. Failure to do so would result in a warrant being issued for his arrest.

New York Times: List of pardons included many tied to power

Heading into the weekend, the New York Times ran a piece exploring Governor Barbour's personal and political connections to the families of those felons who requested and received pardons. The story draws out several interesting details including a letter from a father of one of the pardon recipients who spent a portion of his plea celebrating the election of two Republican aldermen in Corinth.

After cataloging other notable examples of well connected pardonees, the writers observe:

"...in a state with the highest poverty rate in the nation and where nearly 70 percent of convicts are black, official redemption appears to have been attained disproportionately by white people and the well connected."

The story of Barbour's Pardongate and its impact is still being written. At least one of the subplots is its reinforcement of negative stereotypes of Mississippi. That a cocktail of race, party and cash could free killers early in Mississippi only serves to underscore those parts of our past that we'd rather forget.

Thanks, Haley.

Democrats calling for Republicans to join their pardon reform efforts

Mississippi Democratic Party Executive Director Rickey Cole issued the following press release this morning:

JACKSON-Rickey Cole, Executive Director of the Mississippi Democratic Party, praised Democrats in the legislature for their leadership in working to reform Mississippi’s pardon process.

Cole said, “Long before this media circus began, Democrats in the Mississippi House and Senate have been working to protect Mississippi families and improve our system of justice. This will mark the fourth straight year that Democrats have worked to bring openness and fairness to the pardon process. Republicans have killed these bills in the past. I hope they’re finally ready to join together in a bipartisan consensus to do what is right and what the people demand.”

Cole expressed his concern that this might not be the case based on remarks by high-ranking Republican officials in the aftermath of Barbour’s record breaking number of pardon decisions.

"The outgoing governor has the right to do what he sees and what he thinks is good and fair," Brown said. "... And he knows more about the details than I do.”

–Republican Senate Pro Tempore Terry Brown (Clarion Ledger, 1/8/12)

“How does that affect his legacy here? I don't think it does. Of those 200, a lot of them are people that were convicted on selling an ounce of marijuana 20 years ago. They've served their sentence."

--Hinds County Republican Party Chairman Pete Perry (WAPT, 1/11/12)

Cole said, “I’m sorry to hear that the second most powerful Republican in the Senate and the Republican Party Chairman in the state's largest county think that Governor Barbour’s pardon decisions were ‘good and fair.’ Those aren’t the words of a party that has learned its lesson.”

There have been folks asking me to provide quotes from Republicans supporting or excusing Gov. Barbour's pardon spree. Well, the last two should suffice.

Here we go: Clarion-Ledger reports 4 "pardoned" murderers can't be found

Wednesday evening, Hinds County Senior Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green ordered several individuals recently released from prison as part of former Republican Gov. Haley Barbour's prolific pardon spree report their whereabouts to the Mississippi Department of Corrections every 24 hours.  Those individuals are Nathan Kern, David Gatlin, Charles Hooker, Anthony McCray, and Joseph Ozment.  Of those five men, all are convicted murderers except for Kern, who was convicted of robbery.

Well, guess what?  None of the five have contacted MDOC, and no one knows where they might be.  The Clarion-Ledger has a story on it today, in which several justifiably terrified family members of victims are quoted.  In light of the fact that all 5 men are likely to return to prison to complete their sentences, it may be difficult to track them down.

Thanks, Haley.

Another troubling question regarding the pardons

As shown yesterday, there were apparently some efforts by some of the pardon recipients to publish the notices required by Section 124. (The four notices in the Sun-Herald appear to have been published by convicts who were no longer in jail.)

Now here's the question: If notices were in fact run on behalf of people in custody, who paid for them?

Judge Tomie Green orders no further releases for pardons; order focuses on Section 124's language

Attorney General Jim Hood (D) sought an injunction yesterday from Hinds County Senior Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green that would prohibit the Mississippi Department of Corrections from releasing any more of the inmates purportedly pardoned by Gov. Haley Barbour (R). Judge Green granted that motion, and issued a hand-edited order yesterday around 6 p.m., and the Clarion-Ledger has it posted on their site.

The nature of injunctive relief does not leave much time for careful word processing, so often judges will do as Judge Green did here, and edit the proposed order by hand. To me, there are two interesting parts to this order.

First, that Judge Green wrote in the types of crimes Barbour was pardoning. She adds "i.e., murder, manslaughter, rape, armed robbery, aggravated assault, sexual assault, kidnapping, burglary, domestic violence, etc." I wasn't at the hearing, but I'm certain Hood brought up the nature of the crimes being excused by Barbour. Here, Green seems to be letting the respondents know that the nature of the crimes committed by these purported pardon recipients makes the matter one of larger import than if they had been, say, guilty of possession of cocaine.

Second, Judge Green underlines the portion of Section 124 that reads "no pardon shall be granted until the applicant therefor shall have published for thirty days, in some newspaper in the county where the crime was committed, and in case there be no newspaper published in said county, then in an adjoining county, his petition for pardon, setting forth the reasons why such pardon should be granted." That shows that the Defendants need to be prepared to argue that the publications either happened or aren't required, and they're going to have a tough time if they want to argue the latter.

Today Show covers Haley Barbour's Pardongate (video)

Rep. David Baria (D-Bay St. Louis) and Attorney General Jim Hood (D) are interviewed in this story about Gov. Haley Barbour's Pardongate, which NBC titled "Mississippi Mess":

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

***BREAKING*** - Barbour releases statement defending pardon; I tear it apart

The following is the text of a statement of Gov. Haley Barbour (R) regarding Pardongate. My commentary is in italics.

Some people have misunderstood the clemency process and think that all or most of the individuals who received clemency from former Gov. Haley Barbour were in jail at the time of their release. Generally, only the really dangerous ones were still in jail. Approximately 90 percent of these individuals were no longer in custody, and a majority of them had been out for years. Oh, like Harry Bostick? The pardons were intended to allow them to find gainful employment or acquire professional licenses as well as hunt and vote. Is that what you think Michael Graham uses a shotgun for? My decision about clemency was based upon the recommendation of the Parole Board in more than 90 percent of the cases. Well, I want to see the numbers, Haley. The Parole Board's disapproval sure didn't stop you from pardoning Tammy Gatlin's murderer. The 26 people released from custody due to clemency is just slightly more than one-tenth of 1 percent of those incarcerated. If you want to play a numbers game, Haley, why don't you compare your sheer number of pardons to those of Musgrove, Fordice, and Mabus? Let's even combine them all and multiply them by two. You still hold the Guiness world record for most pardons by a mile.

Half of the people who were incarcerated and released were placed on indefinite suspension due to medical reasons because their health care expenses while incarcerated were costing the state so much money. These individuals suffer from severe chronic illnesses, are on dialysis, in wheelchairs or are bedridden. What about the other half? You just felt like letting them go? They are not threats to society but if any of them commits an offense – even a misdemeanor – they’ll be returned to custody to serve out their term. Ah, good. But Haley you do know that the majority of the folks, you know the ones you pardoned, they're good to go, right? They can forget about the rest of their terms, regardless of whether or not they follow the law going forward.

Of the inmates released for medical reasons, a small number were placed on house arrest, and all still remain under the supervision of the Department of Corrections. OK, got it. I've heard plenty about the 13 folks you let out of jail on conditional release because they were sick. But what about the rest of them, Haley? We're all still waiting on you to explain those.

The first in what may be a long line of really awful stories involving Barbour pardon recipients

NMissCommentor has a pretty interesting story on his site today that is the fifth in a series of posts about the identities of those receiving pardons from Gov. Haley Barbour (R). The story is here:

A Gov. Barbour felony DUI pardon recipient is in jail after yet another DUI that lead to the death of a teenager

Here's the skinny: Harry Bostick of Oxford, 55, was arrested in October for violation of parole. He was on parole for 3rd offense DUI. In October, Bostick drove his car into one driven by Charity Smith of Okolona, 18. Smith was killed. Bostick was arrested after he refused a Breathalyzer. Yesterday, while sitting in jail awaiting his parole revocation hearing, Bostick was pardoned for the 3rd offense DUI by Barbour.

I'd like to hear Barbour's reasoning behind that one. Pretty sure it was going to be that Bostick had "really turned his life around." Guess that one won't work any longer.

Thanks, Haley.

Attorney General Hood says Barbour employees refused to turn over public records concerning pardons; Gov. Bryant ordered them to comply

Wow. Things are getting more and more strange regarding Pardongate. In his press conference today, Attorney General Jim Hood (D) said employees of former Governor Haley Barbour (R) had stonewalled him all day in his efforts to obtain the documents relating to the pardons involved in Pardongate. Those individuals, as of today, are private citizens in possession of public documents.

After AG Hood informed Gov. Phil Bryant (R) of the refusal of these individuals to turn the documents over, Gov. Bryant ordered the documents released, and they complied.

Thanks, Haley.

***BREAKING*** - AG Jim Hood will seek injunction stopping release of "pardoned" prisoners

In a press conference currently being held, Attorney General Jim Hood (D) is announcing that he will seek an injunction that would prevent those apparently pardoned by outgoing Governor Haley Barbour (R) from being released from prison.  At issue is the procedure outlined in Section 124 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, mentioned here last night.  In particular, it does not appear that many of the pardons were issued in accordance with the constitutional requirement that a pardon petition be published for 30 days prior to a pardon being issued.

For example, take a look at the Sun-Herald announcements found here.  None of those were posted 30 days prior to January 10, 2012, and would therefore likely be unconstitutional.

In addition, AG Hood has asked MDOC Commissioner Chris Epps to refrain from releasing anyone from MDOC custody on such a "pardon" until the constitutionality of the purported pardon can be determined.  Those who have been released may be rearrested.

Thanks, Haley.

The New York Times covers Barbour's Pardongate

Here's the NYT article, with new quotes and this comparison of past governors' pardons:

Other Mississippi governors have issued full pardons to people convicted of murder — Kirk Fordice, for example, issued two such pardons before he left office in 2000 after two terms — but none have issued so many pardons to so many criminals.

Governor Fordice issued only 13 full pardons; Gov. Ray Mabus (1988-92) issued four; and Mr. Barbour’s immediate predecessor, Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (2000-4) issued only one, to a man convicted of marijuana possession. They also granted lesser degrees of clemency, like suspended sentences and commutations, but even counting all of those, they did not come close to Mr. Barbour.

Thanks, Haley.

NMissCommentor.com takes a look at some of the pardon recipients

Oxford lawyer Tom Freeland has a series of blog posts up at his site that go into some detail on several of Haley Barbour's pardon recipients. Here they are:

Gov. Barbour’s last day pardons: Who are they? some notes on a few of the homicide cases

More Notes on Gov. Barbour’s last day pardons: The homicide cases

Some press reactions to the Governor’s pardon grants

Gov. Barbour’s last day pardons: Who are they (fourth post of a series)

Good stuff in there, as he covers about half of the homicide cases Haley Barbour excused.

Attorney General Jim Hood to hold press conference at 3 p.m. on pardon issue

AG Jim Hood will speak shortly regarding his plans for action concerning the Barbour "Pardongate" matter. No word on whether there will be a Republican response.

Sun-Herald reporting on Goff appears to be off

The Sun-Herald article referenced in a prior post appears to be a bit misleading. First off, the killer was released as part of an internal MDOC calculation that awarded prisoners who helped in Katrina clean-up, and not as a part of Barbour's "Pardonpalooza" yesterday. Furthermore, it appears as though Goff may well have been released on parole prior to his rearrest regardless of whether or not he was granted a 180-day reduction by MDOC.