When Clemency Kills
Those that are responsible for releasing a menace on society must bear the moral burden when clemency kills.
Four police officers were gunned down and killed last Sunday morning representing a tragedy that should never have happened. Maurice Clemmons specifically targeted the Lakewood officers inside a local coffee shop south of Seattle, Washington. This convicted felon had a long history of living outside normal civilized society.
Granting clemency is a failure in judgement on all individuals involved. There are many people that invest a lot of valuable time in order to convict a felon. This would include members of the jury, prosecutors, the judge and a myriad of others that support the judicial system.
Mike Huckabee as Governor of Arkansas had an obligation and responsibility to keep Maurice Clemmons behind bars. He demonstrated utter disregard for the public safety in which he was entrusted. There is no amount of defense, no comforting apologies or flowery rhetoric that will disguise this irresponsibility that he so blatantly chose to support.
Why are criminals released under the false pretense that they have been rehabilitated, that they are now nice and no threat to society whatsoever? The list is long of parole boards and governors releasing criminals only to have them prey on society with robbing, raping, and murdering the innocent in the name of giving someone a break.
This was Huckabee’s downfall during his last Presidential bid. Either you’re tough on criminals or you feel sorry for them and grant clemency. Is now a good time to mention Wayne DuMond? Another criminal from Huckabee’s clemency campaign who went on to rape and murder Carol Sue Shields in Missouri.
Mike Huckabee’s past is coming back to haunt him over and over. This effectively seals his fate from ever running for public office again. Any political aspirations are history. Not even Chuck Norris will be able to pull him from this precipice.
The question now is how many more innocent victims must fall prey to clemency releases?
Maurice Clemmons is now dead. Shot to death by a police officer trying to apprehend him. For all you bleeding hearts that swoon over criminals, if there had been no clemency in Clemmons case he would still be sitting safe and sound in an Arkansas prison receiving his three hots and a cot. The rest of us will have to be satisfied that he received a just punishment and millions of dollars, so they say, will not have to be spent on death penalty appeals.
