Huckabee addresses the Clemmons Case

Mike Huckabee: I Take Full Responsibility

The nation was stunned by the senseless and savage cold-blooded murders of 4 young police officers in Lakewood, Washington. Whenever a police officer or soldier is killed, I feel the loss is even more profound for they are the ones who stand between our freedom and anarchy.

At the time I write these words, police are still searching for Maurice Clemmons who is believed to be the one committing these unspeakable acts. Nine years ago, that name crossed my desk. I commuted his sentence from 108 years to 47 years. Many news reports, talk show hosts, and bloggers have erroneously said that he was granted a “pardon.” Others speak of me “setting him free.” As one who now hosts a talk show and who does daily radio commentaries, I can attest to how easy commentary is compared to actually governing. I am not seeking to justify or defend my actions of nine years ago, but it’s important that I answer for my actions and give some explanation as to how and why his sentence was commuted.

I take full responsibility for my actions of nine years ago. I acted on the facts presented to me in 2000. If I could have possibly known what Clemmons would do nine years later, I obviously would have made a different decision. But if the same file was presented to me today, I would have likely made the same decision.

Each state is different, but in Arkansas, a governor doesn’t initiate a parole—the Post Prison Transfer Board does after it conducts a thorough review of an inmate’s file and request. The board then makes a recommendation to the governor, who decides to grant or deny.

If the decision is made to grant any form of clemency (the broad term for a commutation or a full pardon), the governor gives notice of intent and the file is sent to the prosecutor, judge, law enforcement officials, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of State as well as to the news media. A period of 30 days is then started for there to be public input as well as response from the above named officials. At the end of the public response period, the final decision is rendered.

Between 1,000 and 1,200 requests for some form of clemency came to my desk each and every one of the 10 ½ years I was governor. Ninety-two percent of the time, I denied the requests. When I did grant them, it was usually based on the recommendation of at least five of the members of the PPTB, with consideration given to the input from public officials.

Maurice Clemmons was 16 years old when he was charged with burglary and robbery. He was sentenced to a total of 108 years based on the way in which the sentences were stacked. For the crimes he committed and the age at which he committed the crimes, it was dramatically outside the norm for sentencing. The PPTB recommended in 2000 by a 5-0 vote for his sentence to be commuted.

He had served 11 years of his sentence. A pardon would have set him free and cleared his record. A commutation to “time served” would have set him free and released him from any parole reporting. As per the recommendation, I commuted his sentence to the term of 47 years, still a long sentence for the type of crime he had committed, but it would make him parole eligible. It would not parole him, as governors do not have that power in Arkansas. He would have to separately apply for parole and meet the criteria for that.

Despite news reports to the contrary, the only record of public response to the notice to commute was from the trial judge, who recommended the commendation in concert with the board. There were letters of support, but no record of letters of opposition.

Following the commutation, he met the criteria for parole and was paroled to supervision in late 2000. When he violated terms of his parole by participating in additional crimes, he was returned to prison and should have stayed there. For reasons only the prosecutor can explain, charges were not brought forth in a timely way and the prosecutor ended up dropping the charges, allowing him to leave prison and return to supervised parole.

He moved to Washington state and had intermittent criminal activity that increased in violence and frequency. He was allowed to post bail in Washington state and while on bail from there committed the unspeakable acts of murdering four valiant police officers. I can’t explain why he wasn’t prosecuted properly for the parole violations or why he was allowed to make bail in Washington state and not incarcerated earlier for crimes committed there.

I wish his file had never crossed my desk, but it did. The decision I made is one that I now wish were different, but I could only look backwards at his case, not forward. None of this is of any comfort to the families of these police officers nor should it be. Their loss is senseless. No words or deeds by anyone will bring them back to their loved ones. Our system is not perfect and neither are those responsible for administering it.

The system and those of us who are supposed to make sure it works sometimes fail. In this case, we clearly did.

Huckabee and the Clemmons case

This explains the issue so well:

This post is the personal opinion by HucksArmy Director David Schmidt.

Let me first start by saying that the killing of the four police officers in the state of Washington was a revolting and horrific act. Our deepest thoughts and prayers are with all those who are grieving and we trust that justice will be swift and strong.

The following are the details connecting Clemmons and Huckabee:

Maurice Clemmons is wanted for questioning by police in connection to the killing of four officers in Lakeland, Washington

Maurice Clemmons was sentences to a 108 year prison term for his actions in 3 incidents as a 16 year old youth. These actions appear to be the:

Robbery of cell phone and house appliances from unoccupied house
Robbery of purse off of a women without the use of a weapon
Possession of a firearm

Huckabee On May 3, 2000, Gov. Mike Huckabee commuted (lessened) Clemmons’ 108 year sentence to 47 years, 5 months and 19 days, which made him eligible for parole that day.

The Parole Board granted his parole July 13, 2000.

He was released Aug. 1, 2000.

In light of what appears to be Clemmons killing of 4 officers, would anybody want this guy to ever be free to do that? No.

Is it excessive to sentence a person to a 108 year sentence for 3 serious but non-violent crimes as a 16-year -old youth? I think so. You may disagree.

Did Huckabee know that Clemmons was going to apparently kill four police officers 9 years after his parole from prison? No.

The question in regards to Huckabee is whether he showed negligent judgment in commuting the sentence of Clemmons.

It is my opinion that Huckabee did not show a serious lack of judgment for allowing Clemmons to be eligible for parole after serving for 11 years. When considering that the crimes were non-violent and committed at the age of 16, I don’t believe that it is unreasonable to allow a person to be eligible for parole after serving 11 years.

We can’t blame Huckabee for a decision that he made without knowledge of future crimes although we can blame him for poor judgment based on what he already knew. Based on that, I think his judgment was well within the bounds of reason. You may differ in your opinion and you are welcome to do that.

Download official Arkansas court and clemency documents behind this post at:http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ABPub/2009/11/30/2010388798.pdf

DISCLOSURE: I like Huckabee. I have met him a few times and have found him warm and consistent. I also am a leader of a grassroots group called HucksArmy that supported Huckabee in 2008 and helps advocate for conservatives and common-sense government. While this association may make you think that I only want to defend Huckabee because I like him, I encourage you to make your judgement based on the soundness of this post and not who I am.

Thanksgiving message from Huckabee

Thanksgiving is a special day for our nation. It is a day to give thanks for the bounty we have been so blessed to receive. It is also a day to give thanks and offer prayers for our military. As I sit down to enjoy Thanksgiving with family and friends, I find myself thinking of all the things we have to be thankful for.

I give thanks that I am an American, free to live and worship as I choose, free to speak my mind on important issues and free to travel where I choose when I choose. We truly are a land of plenty. Our nation and our people have been blessed with a standard of living unprecedented in the history of mankind.

Although we recognize that these are challenging times, and that millions of Americans are suffering from unemployment, let us gather together on this special day, enjoy our families and friends and say a special prayer for our country and its people. May we remain the land of freedom.

Huckabee on Palin and his Own Pro-life Views

Some folks have tried to balme Mike's supporters for a hit piece put out on Palin and her pro-life views. This clip makes it clear how he feels about her.

Superficial reporting?

Our local newspaper ran a syndicated story from the Associated Press by Liz Sidoti ("GOP hopefuls begin jockeying for 2012").

Who are mentioned in the lead? Palin, Pawlenty and Romney. Huckabee is buried deep in the article along with the "others."

I posted the following on the newspaper's forum:

I read the AP story in the 11/15 issue ("GOP hopefuls begin jockeying for 2012") with interest - and then disappointment.

The article seems prompted by Palin's book tour and the media attention she is getting - which is fine. I like Palin.

But then as the writer analyzes the Republican hopefuls, she sticks Mike Huckabee at the tail end as an afterthought.

Huckabee currently leads in all the recent GOP polls. He is also is out on a book tour of his own with a bestseller, and has the highest rated cable show on weekends. His radio commentaries are carried on hundreds of stations. Why is he stuck at the end? Did someone not do her research?

At the moment, the polls show Huckabee, Palin and Romney are the leading contenders for the GOP nomination. A fair article should reflect that.

Smart move by Huckabee (NY 23)

A few weeks back, Huckabee took some heat for not getting involved in a Congressional race here in New York.

Post election, he looks like he showed good judgement.

Republican conservatives and moderates were caught up in a battle over New York’s 23rd Congressional district. The GOP endorsed candidate, Dede Scozzafava, was pro-abortion and pro gay rights. She was battling the Democratic candidate, Bill Owens, and a Conservative Party candidate, Doug Hoffman, whose views fit in better with Huckabee's on these and other issues.

But despite calls to endorse Hoffman - as did Sarah Palin, and eventually, Tim Pawlenty - Huckabee declined. (So did Mitt Romney.)

Meanwhile, Newt Gingrich endorsed Scozzafava.

Huckabee was reluctant to endorse outside the Party. His policy has been to push conservatives to primary fellow Republicans, not to run in the general election again them (Rubio vs. Crist down in Florida, for example). But he also could not openly support a Republican whose views so differed from his own.

Just before the election, Scozzafava dropped out and endorsed the Democratic candidate. Egg on the face of Gingrich.

Then the Democratic candidate bested Hoffman - giving a normally safe Republican seat to the the Democrats.

That won't make Palin look good - though at least she came in early and was consistent. Pawlenty looked like he was being opportunistic, so that won't help him either, especially since the Republicans lost what had been a safe seat.

In the end, Huckabee showed good political sense without compromising his beliefs - and he did not antagonize GOP leaders. Even if they are not enthusiastic about him, he will seem less of a threat than Palin.

And if it comes down to Romney and Huckabee, at least some of the Romney-leaning leadership will have an easier time backing Huckabee when he wins the nomination.

On Huckabee: Former PP director turns pro-life

This clip of Abby Johnson, the Planned Parenthood director who quit and became pro-life after watching an ultrasound of an abortion has been getting wide play. It can only help to cement Huckabee's credentials among pro-lifers.