Mississippi court stops release of inmates pardoned by Barbour

Jackson, MS, United States (AHN) – A judge has temporarily halted the release of prisoners pardoned by former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour before he left office this week.

Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green granted the injunction Attorney Gen. Jim Hood requested on Wednesday, assuaging some families of victims concerned about their safety.

Hood, a Democrat, sought a temporary restraining order because some inmates were pardoned without having met a requirement in the state constitution that a pardon request be published 30 days before it is granted. His court filing specifically named five of the more than 200 inmates Barbour pardoned on Tuesday, his last day in office.

The five convicts–David Gatlin, Charles Hooker, Nathan Kern, Anthony McCray and Joseph Ozmet–received full, complete and unconditional pardons. All except Kern, who served time for robbery, were found guilty of murder. The case of Gatlin, who fatally shot his wife in the head in 1993 while she was holding their six-week old child, has attracted the most attention.

Barbour, former head of the Republican Governors Association and a top potential White House candidate last year, told WTVA-TV late Wednesday, “The pardons were intended to allow them to find gainful employment or acquire professional licenses as well as hunt and vote. My decision about clemency was based upon the recommendation of the Parole Board in more than 90 percent of the cases.”

He added that about 90 percent of the inmates he pardoned were no longer in custody and had been out of prison for years.

Some of the convicts Barbour pardoned worked at the governor’s mansion as cleaners. Gatlin, whose pardon was explored in detail by the Clarion Ledger, worked as a trusty at the mansion beginning in 2009. He is no longer in the state department of corrections’ roster of inmates and local reports cite officials as saying he was one of only several inmates released before the court injunction was issued.

Some lawmakers in the GOP-controlled state House were dismayed over the pardons. State Rep. Wanda Jennings, a member of the majority, told the Desoto Times Tribune she was “uncomfortable” with the former governor’s decision.

Gov. Phil Bryant, a Republican who took the oath of office on Wednesday, has not issued an official statement. He told Fox40 TV, “That’s Gov. Barbour’s decision, I really don’t have a comment on it.”

---