Posted by
GSK Republican on Monday, December 07, 2009 1:01:45 PM
Townhall, Allen Hunt, GSK comment, Dec 7, 2009
While several governors, including Pawlenty and Palin, have claimed never to commute a sentence or pardon anyone, there is a bit of hypocrisy there. Romney did not either, I believe. They had shorter terms in office and perhaps had Presidential aspirations in mind. Huckabee served 10 1/2 years. He did not decide to run for President until 2007. It is easier for a potential candidate never to have to deal with recidivism. He did his job, probably with no delight, of reviewing about four of these prisoner reports a day during office.
Before 2006 or 2007, Huckabee had no expressed interest in ever running for President; therefore he took two treacherous paths for a potential candidate. He did what the job set before him as Governor of Arkansas required--to review every prison sentence, whether he wanted to or not. He was also the one to sign the death warrants for all those who had committed capital crimes who were headed for execution.
If he were really soft on crime, not believing that Romans 13 allowed the execution of murderers, would he have allowed these prisoners to be put to death--over a dozen people on death row?
The rise in crime is the result of a society that has lost its way. As Huckabee wrote in his book, Do the Right Thing, there were less than 8,000 inmates when he took office, more than 14,000 when he left office, and not enough money to house more in prisons. Also, every juvenile in detention cost between $40,000 and 80,000 a year. Most juvenile prisoners were not tried as adults, but they were let out at age 18. Arkansas law was amended during Huckabee's term to allow the trying of youth for murder, but Clemmons was not up for murder. He was tried as an adult, but he got a sentence far longer than most adults for the crimes of unarmed robbery. Only upon recommendation of the parole board and a judge did Governor Huckabee commute the sentence to about 47 years, still longer than any adult or child would receive. The parole board, however, decided to free Clemmons, after which he violated parole and should have served 25 more years in prison. The judicial and criminal justice system failed. to manage this prisoner after release.