Shortly after 8 am today, 4 patrol officers from the Lakewood Police Department were shot and killed as they prepared to start their shifts at a Parkland coffee shop. The investigation has developed a person of interest, Maurice Clemmons, and officers and detectives are currently seeking Clemmons for questioning in the slayings. Clemmons is reported to be the same individual that was pardoned by then Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and later moved to Washington State, where he has had numerous contacts with law enforcement officers in Pierce County.
If Clemmons is in fact the shooter, this would not be the only time that Huckabee has pardoned a career felon with victims in Washington State.
Clemmons criminal history includes 5 felony convictions in Arkansas, and 8 in this state, and was just released on bail 8 days ago from the Pierce County Jail.
9 children are now experiencing the first of many holidays without one of their parents, and a community mourns the senseless loss of four professional cops. Please keep them in your thoughts:
* Sgt. Mark Rennenger, 39: he had 13 years experience as a police officer. He is survived by a wife and three children.
* Ofc. Ronald Owen, 37: he had 12 years experience as a police officer. He is survived by a former wife and a daughter.
* Ofc. Tina Griswold, 40: she had 14 years of law enforcement experience. She is survived by a husband and two children.
* Ofc. Greg Richards, 42: he had eight years of law enforcement experience. He is survived by a wife and three children.
Huckabee’s political career is over as should be his radio show.
This was just horrible, and also preventable.
This is a horrible, sad tragedy that should never have happened. The families of these four veteran police officers will be in my prayers this holiday season, and beyond.
Sick SOB, and felon. I wonder if he bought his gun at a gun show? No Background Check. I raise my arms in prayer for those police officers who probably had nothing to do with Clemmon’s problems.. Prayers also to their children, their spouses and their extended families. Huckabee may have been the first to let him out, but he was not the last. What is wrong with this picture? Do we all have to become vigilantes or burrow in to steel houses for safety?
sundance, there is some evidence that the State of Arkansas may have changed the status of Clemmons’ bail status, effectively allowing the suspect to be released just days before the shooting. From the SeattlePI…
“Clemmons’ confinement was initially guaranteed by a no-bail warrant issued by the Arkansas Department of Community Corrections after he missed a Pierce County court date. That warrant was later dropped and Clemmons was released after posting bail on Nov. 23, days before he allegedly gunned down four Lakewood Police officers at a coffee shop.
Speaking Monday, Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist faulted Arkansas officials for dropping the warrant, noting that his department’s decision not request an increase in Clemmons’ $190,000 bail would “be a moot point if the no-bail hold was still in effect.”"
If the “no bail” warrant was still in effect for Clemmons, Pierce County would have been required to continue to hold Clemmons in jail until Arkansas officials could arrive and personally escort him back to AR.
But you also bring up a very valid question here: How was Clemmons, who family and neighbors described as “unstable”, “violent”, and “unpredictable”, etc., able to obtain a deadly weapon and commit these horrific crimes? It’s being reported tonight that several people overheard Clemmons say on Saturday night that he was planning on killing police officers, and a psychologist’s report after examining Clemmons said that he was likely to commit violent acts. If we are the fair and just society we claim to be, what are we going to do to prevent similar situations in the future?
Huckabee said on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” Monday night that Clemmons was allowed back on the street because prosecutors failed to file paperwork in time.
Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley, whose office opposed Clemmons’ parole in 2000 and 2004, said Huckabee’s comments were “red herrings.”
“My word to Mr. Huckabee is man up and own what you did,” Jegley said.
Clemmons was shot and killed in Seattle around 0245 today when a lone SPD officer was checking on a stolen parked car. Clemmons reportedly approached the officer, refused to stop and refused to show his hands. SPD is reporting that Clemmons was found with one of the Lakewood officers weapons.
Law enforcement officials from both Pierce and King Counties are planning on arresting several persons who aided Clemmons as he evaded capture.
This is an article by By: Mike Huckabee….
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.
I got to tell you I cant believe you people. To take this tragedy and turn it into more political hate mongering is just plain sick.
What are you going to do when your Queen the Governor lets loose a bunch of jail birds and they start killing, who are you going to blame than?
Stick- if this topic is just too uncomfortable for you, we can talk about how a mentally unstable felon with a violent history obtained a firearm with the intent of murdering police officers.
As for Gregoire, I’m pretty sure that she hasn’t pardoned over 1,000 felons. Some of Huckabee’s critics are saying that it didn’t matter what your criminal history was, if you claimed you were “born again”, you stood an excellent chance to go free.
This, from Huffingtopn Post-
“At Salon, Joe Conason reports that Huckabee has a pattern of releasing violent criminals after interventions by fellow Baptist preachers or professions of Christian faith by the inmates themselves. Wayne Dumond is one such case; in another instance the public outcry was so strong that Huckabee was forced to reverse his decision.”
“Clemmons was among 1,033 people who were pardoned or had their sentences reduced during Huckabee’s 10 1/2 years as governor. Bill Clinton, Frank White and Jim Guy Tucker granted 507 clemencies in the 17 1/2 years they served. Beebe, Huckabee’s Democratic successor, has issued 273 commutations and pardons since taking office in January 2007 – all but one of them were pardons after the completion of the inmates’ prison terms”
Huffington Post
…and some tidbits about Huckabee’s pardoning of Dumond:
“Huckabee’s role in gaining the release of a convicted rapist, Wayne DuMond, was the subject of an attack ad during his presidential run. While Huckabee’s predecessor, Tucker, reduced DuMond’s sentence making him eligible for parole, Huckabee took steps almost immediately after taking office to win DuMond’s release.
Two members of the state parole board said Huckabee pressured them to show DuMond mercy, while Huckabee publicly questioned whether DuMond was guilty of the rape of a teenage girl. During the presidential primaries, a conservative group aired television commercials in South Carolina featuring the mother of Carol Sue Shields, whom DuMond killed in 2000 after his release.”
Huffington Post
Yes, Clinton denied Du Mond’s clemency. Huckleberry squashed that one too.
The Pierce County Sheriff’s department is on record as being more than a little pissed at Huckabee’s reference to it being THEIR fault.
Dont be surprised if this is not over. Several officers feel their could be retaliations for the shooting of Clemmons because he was a pretty big drug king pin in the area..it was some of his dealers who helped hide him and moved him around for 36 hours.
there, not “their”
Let’s have a moment of silence for Mike Huckabee…
Democrats…not happy unless there’s some killin’ and dyin’ going on somewhere.
Neal, killin’ and dyin’ is not part of this Democrat’s blueprint for societal interaction. Sweeping condemnations will not solve anything.
Stir stick: Clarify–just what are you trying to say about hate mongering and the potential release of prisoners? Is Misogyny part of your makeup? Give us a few more words next time in place of the cryptic jazz you have been emitting.
Drew
Huckabee did NOT pardon Clemmons, he commuted his sentence from 108 to 47 years. He was 16 years old when he was charged with burglary and robbery, he was sentenced for 108 years. Huckabee reduced his sentence to 47 years, you not being honest when you suggest that Huckabee let him out of prison…that was up to a parole board.
Huckabee DID let him out of prison, based on two things- the RECOMMENDATIONS of the Parole Board, and the letter from Clemmons saying he was hoping Huckabee would pray for him. Ya see, the Parole Board reviews the case, and then makes a recommendation to the Governor- in that order. Huckabee clearly had a pattern for releasing felons if they claimed they had found Jesus. Up until his release, Clemmons was no model prisoner, having been involved in 9 violent altercations in less than 10 years, including several threats against his guards. Huckabee either can’t read, or he ignored the obvious.
I am sorry if I used the wrong nomenclature for you- Huckabee RELEASED Clemmons. Clemmons was going to spend the rest of his life in an Arkansas prison, but Huckabee released him. As we noted here earlier, Huckabee was releasing felons at a rate unsurpassed by other governors. And once Clemmons was here, his “no bail” warrant (which would have required Clemmons’ detention and return to AR to face trial, at their costs) was changed by AR authorities to “bail”. At some point, someone is going to call this for what it was- interstate felon dumping, and the professionals in the corrections services say that states like Arkansas have been doing this for several years.
It is indeed in poor taste to take these two tragedies and try to make political hay out of them. But I see that’s the liberal way.
In the case of Ft. Hood, you blame the gun dealers. Somehow you leave the military (including the commander in chief) out of the “blame game”.
In the case of the police shootings, you blame a governor who signed the release of a man sentenced to 108 years for crimes committed while he was 17, and they didn’t include murder. A bit draconian, and he certainly wouldn’t have gotten a sentence that long in Washington.
20-20 hindsight is a wonderful thing. You’re never wrong.
Why is it that, in both circumstances you blame everyone (as long as they’re Republican) except…THE PERPETRATOR…?
Must be something they teach at Liberal School. Government does everything for you, and relieves you of any self-responsibility.
The Seattle Times gives a far more fair and balanced coverage than one finds in here.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010392869_shootingjustice01m.html
Now you really are silly Neal, the commander in chief has little to do with hiring or promoting officers. He was promoted and sent to Ft Hood after Walter Reed to get him the hell out of their way. He was given bad reviews months before Our President came along but no one in the pentagon thought twice about it. Whose fault is that?
Drew
reducing a sentence from 108 years to 47 years in prison is hardly “letting him out” why don’t you blame the parole board…after all, you do recognize the fact that THEY are the ones that RECOMMENDED that his sentence be lowered. Mike Huckabee stated that “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.”
Why don’t you blame Washington’s court system, since he committed more violent crimes in Washington than he did in AR and he was an adult when he committed his crimes here…he was only 16 when he was sentenced in AR. Go ahead and blame a republican for this, forget the fact that he was in and out of WASHINGTON’s legal system for the past nine years and we failed to keep him off the streets as well. Only republicans get your criticism…when was the last time you criticized a fellow lib?
Sorry if I dared to criticize a con, particularly one who preaches personal responsibility. Part of that responsibility is to review what the parole board studied to come up with their decision, instead of blindly accepting it as you suggest.
When one of the AR prosecutors dared to criticize Huckabee’s penchant for turning felons loose on the community, he was told by one of Huckabee’s administrative assistants to “lay off of the Mountain Dew. We’ve got things under control here.”
Now we see what happens when Obama worshipers arm themselves.
Obviously, political affiliation should be a question asked on all future gun sales.
“Interstate felon dumping.” Precisely. The only event that prevents me from saying this is exactly what AR intended, is that I have no idea how he got to Washington. Regardless of where he ended up, he should never have been pronounced “no bail.” I guess this means he was free to go. Still that does not relieve our state of the responsibility of protecting our LE and citizens. Common sense would have kept him in a deep, deep cell.
The problem is an overweight sentencing criteria everywhere. We have people in pens who have no history of violence–probably for possession of maryjane. Overload is causing some of our problems, while real violence and anti-societal dudes and dudettes are running free. We have to prioritize law enforcement–go after the things that really matter and let go those who have not demonstrated a willingness to perforate human bodies.
Both Clemmons and the Fort Hood killer are examples of our inability to monitor and control persons we know to be unstable and disoriented to society norms. Both cases spewed clues of uncertainty all over the landscape, which responsible persons should have noted and acted upon.
And, we cannot blame these acts on Republicans or Democrats. All of us know that weaknesses are handed out to everyone. We all have to take blame. To fume and sputter about liberals, cons, Demos, Republicans, pointing fingers and distributing blame, will get us no place, no time. We all have to do what is right and with a mind to the people–which is us. Pogo was right, “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”
Good post, whoopee…
Whoopeedo
Overcrowding IS a problem with our prisons, but from Drew’s remarks he wants to increase the overcrowding…he wants to keep (at the time) non-violent 16 year olds in prison for 108 years…it wasn’t until AFTER he was sentenced that Clemmons became increasingly violent. After Clemmons was released from prison, he violated his parole, he should have been put in prison and he should have stayed there for the rest of is sentence…for whatever reason he was released again …this was no fault of Huckabee. The way I see it is Huckabee is guilty of trying to be fair to a 16 year old kid, that made a few mistakes, unfortunately Huckabee made the mistake of being too fair to a bad person. Now years later after being released from a Washington prison, Drew is blaming Huckabee for a decision he made about 10 years ago, and gives Washington’s parole board and legal system a complete pass, and does not even question why he was released from one of our prisons just a week before killing 4 police officers.
As you can see from my comments, I am not blaming republicans or democrats for anything, I want to make sure that our legal system works. I want our legal system to be fair, but firm, and apply to all.
Jason, Clemons was out of jail multiple times when he continued to violate either his parole or engage in a new crime. It was his choice to shape up after his ‘break’ in Arkansas. He blew it.
mainstreeter
your time line is a little skewed…he was 16 in Arkansas, when he served 11 years (he would be 27) when he got his “break”. After he violated his parole, he should have been put back in prison, and finished his sentence of 47 years, that Huckabee commuted his sentence to, instead he was released (without the help of Huckabee) and he was able to move to Washington, where he committed more violent crimes, and was still released through our legal system. There is no doubt that he should have been in prison, and he made his choice to commit crimes instead of making the most of his second chance….but one man is not to blame for a series of missed opportunities to incarcerate an increasingly violent person.
Give it up Jason. you’re soft on crime when it comes to republican politicians.
Mainstreeter
“you’re soft on crime when it comes to republican politicians.”****What are you saying…Huckabee committed a crime? And what do you want me to “give up”? I am calling for improving our judicial system so people like this cannot increase their violent criminal activity and continue to get out of prison, but in order to do that we need to recognize that Huckabee’s decision was the first of many mistakes, made by MANY people… is that what you want me to “give up”? You don’t want discussion of ALL the problems that our judicial system faces?
You claimed he was a victim of the judicial system which made him angry
“it wasn’t until AFTER he was sentenced that Clemmons became increasingly violent.”
Uh huh, go tell that to the officers families.
Perhaps on the next episode of Huckabee’s Gay-bashing, Republicon-praising Gospel Hour, he’ll pass the collection plate to raise money for the surviving families of the Lakewood officers. These cons are all about families, you know.
mainstreeter
let me set you straight…I never claimed that Clemmons was a “victim” of the judicial system, you are trying to twist what I did write. When he committed his crimes for which Huckabee commuted his sentence, he was 16 years old. He was young and not violent at that time. If you really have read all of my comments, you would know that I am not defending Clemmons. Have you talked to the officers’ families, have you sent them flowers, or cards? They were my “brothers and sisters” law enforcement is a tight knit group, and I will mourn for them, YOU can tell them whatever you want, but putting the blame on Huckabee for a decision he made 9 years ago and ignoring the criminal history of this man in our state of Washington does not help us fix the system.
Yes, no sense in ignoring Clemmons’ history now- Huckabee took care of that when he let Clemmons’ loose.
Ignore the facts as you cons always will, but Huckabee had everything he needed to deny Clemmons RELEASE, including the reports of his violent attacks on other inmates and his guards, but none of that was important once St. Mike heard the magic words that would get you RELEASED when he was governor- “I found Jesus” (it is unknown if Clemmons might have been refering to an inmate by the name of Jesus who was hiding under Clemmons’ cell bunk. Doesn’t matter anyway). All Huckabee had to do was to deny Clemmons’ RELEASE (in spite of the pressure he was regularly getting from AR church leaders who donate to his campaigns). All Huckabee had to do was read those reports of Clemmons’ violent and unprovoked outbursts, some just weeks before his declared salvation.
Clemmons’ RELEASE by Huckleberry cannot be based solely on his youthful innocence when he was just starting out robbing people and threatening them as a teenager- the governor is required to review the inmates history, right up to his request to be turned loose.
But Rev. Huckabee heard what he needed to hear.
Drew
In order to speak intelligently about our judicial system you first have to understand it…you obviously do not understand it. Commuting a sentence is NOT a RELEASE, a 108 year sentence is extreme for a theft and a robbery, however as he committed crimes in Washington, he WAS RELEASED over and over again. Too bad he wasn’t put away for 108 years for the violent crimes he committed here in our state.
Or the State of Arkansas could have left the “no bail” attachment on Clemmons’ original warrant, which would have kept him in jail, awaiting extradition back to Arkansas to visit with Rev. Huckleberry- maybe Clemmons could have visited Huckabee’s Sunday School class, and talked about how he found Jesus in Arkansas, but must have lost him on the Greyhound on the way to Washington. You’re not as learned in the ways of the courts as you may think: Clemmons’ had a 108 year sentence because he was at that point determined to be an habitual criminal in Arkansas. That means, in bad-guy world, that he was doing a lot of really bad things to innocent citizens, and the courts said he had to be locked away from civilized society.
Huckleberry could have just read Clemmons’ history, instead of letting the church do his thinking for him. Your hero was turning felons, many with violent histories, loose on the street, when all he had to say was “no” a few times. He was releasing them at a rate far greater than any other AR governor, and everybody knew it. I know you want the Huckster to be left alone on this, but Clemmons’ was in an AR prison first. And Huckabee’s action literally opened the door for Clemmons’ RELEASE. He had to be RELEASED from prison in AR first before he could come up here. And the last thing that stood in his way was Huckabee.
How much money has Huckabee raised on his show for the officer’s families?
Huckabee had more than one pardon that went bad, several in fact. That’s the point.
Drew
“Clemmons’ had a 108 year sentence because he was at that point determined to be an habitual criminal in Arkansas. That means, in bad-guy world, that he was doing a lot of really bad things to innocent citizens, and the courts said he had to be locked away from civilized society.”*****WRONG!!! Clemmons was 16, and did NOT have a history of violence.
“You’re not as learned in the ways of the courts as you may think”*** Well, you may not think so but I know better, in fact this is on the Seattle Times web site…
Originally published Wednesday, December 16, 2009 at 11:22 AM
Law enforcement to discuss police shooting
Gov. Chris Gregoire has called for law enforcement groups to discuss possible legal changes following the murder of four police officers.
The Associated Press
OLYMPIA, Wash. —
“Gov. Chris Gregoire has called for law enforcement groups to discuss possible legal changes following the murder of four police officers.
The Seattle Times reports that the meeting of police, prosecutors and judges will take place Dec. 30. Gregoire wants the group to compile a list of needed changes to state law, policy or the state constitution, and to meet with her on Jan. 8.
Maurice Clemmons was under supervision by the state Department of Corrections when authorities say he shot and killed four Lakewood officers at coffee shop before the start of their shifts.
Clemmons was shot and killed by police after a two-day manhunt.”
Gov. Gregoire can take the credit for this, because this is an important step in making the necessary changes to prevent a similar tragedy from happening in the future, but this is happening because of many people like me working hard behind the scenes, calling for changes in our laws and policies, we do not want to bicker over who gets the credit, we just want changes to take place.
It’s OK, jason; we’ll make sure you get the credit you are looking for. We’re also making sure that Huckabee gets the credit HE deserves for the role he played in returning felons to the street, like this fine but impressionable young man:
(please note the ages and dates)
In 1990, the then 18-year-old Clemmons was sentenced as a habitual criminal to 60 years in prison for burglary and theft of property.
Just before he was sentenced Clemmons reportedly took a padlock off his holding cell and tried to throw it a court bailiff, but accidentally struck his mother, who had come to bring him street clothes.
“You have broken your mother’s heart,” Circuit Court Judge Floyd Lofton said as he handed down the prison term, according to coverage in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
” I have broken my own heart,” Clemmons responded, according to the coverage of his sentencing.
Clemmons was found guilty of breaking into the home of a state trooper and taking more than $6,000 in valuables, including the trooper’s gun.
In May of 1989, Clemmons was arrested for allegedly carrying a weapon on a Little Rock, Ark., high school campus. Clemmons, then 17, reportedly told officers he brought a .25-caliber pistol to school because he had “been chased and beaten by ‘dopers,’ ” and if they got after him again he “had something for them.”
Huckabee’s absurd defense is that Clemmons’ extensive sentence was too long for the single offense committed when Clemmons’ was 16. This shows that Huckabee ignored the rest of Clemmons’ violent history when he granted his release. When real cops look at that history, it’s absolutely impossible to ignore.
So, you believe that the ONLY one that made any mistake is Huckabee, forget about the fact that he raped a child, assaulted an officer, and had other felonies in the state of Washington.
Why do you think Gregoire is meeting with lawyers, judges, and other law enforcement personnel? Even she sees that our system failed to keep someone so dangerous off the streets. I do not know why YOU cannot see that.
Huckabee was the F I R S T ! But I can see why cons would think that isn’t important. You are assuming that our Governor is trying to build a political parapet here, but civilized folks are looking at that and thinking she’s trying to prevent another senseless crime against innocents. Hopefully, one of the new regulations will be to stop interstate felon dumping; maybe we can start by prosecuting the dumpers like Huckabee.
Or maybe we can prosecute the people that don’t learn from his criminal history and continue to release him from prison, even as his crimes become more violent as the years go on. Maybe we should prosecute the person/persons responsible for letting him out, just a week before he murdered the four officers. Maybe we should prosecute the psychologist that evaluated him and failed to recognize that he was danger to the public, and was about to “snap” and did not commit him to a hospital.
You are right Huckabee was the first to make a bad judgment, but he was not the LAST. We had many chances to keep him off the streets, but time and time again he was set free.
Has Huckleberry paid you a retainer jason? You’re going way out there to defend his indefensible actions, like ignoring a felon’s violent past and putting him on the street. And when local prosecutors in AR called Huckster’s office to question why all of these felons were being released after claiming to be Christians, they were told to “lighten up on the Mountain Dew- we’ve got it under control”- obviously, Huckabee’s staffers had developed the same cavalier attitude about releasing violent convicted felons. Huckabee need not ask for the support of the LEO’s organizations and unions if he ever wants to run for an office again, because he won’t be getting any.
drew
I have not been defending any actions…just pointing out that there are many other people involved, and policy/ laws need to be changed. That is why we are meeting with Gov.Gregoire to discuss some changes that need to be made. Huckabee is not the only one to drop the ball, there is plenty of blame to spread around in Washington as well.
Yes, Gregoire is a great governor, and she understands the need to keep the community safe. She has always had the support of real cops, and Huckleberry certainly does not. Pretty sure she’s never turned 1,033 felons loose either, or done any interstate felon dumping, which needs to be made a felony offense. It is surely going to turn into a civil case against the State of Arkansas, and the good Reverend himself.