Was Gov. Haley Barbour Show of Mercy by Pardoning Convicted Murderers Unthought-out?

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, who is leaving office due to term limits, has pardoned 29 criminals including convicted murderers.

Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, who is leaving office due to term limits, has pardoned 29 inmates. Their crimes were listed as murder, manslaughter or homicide, state records show.

At least four of those pardoned were convicted murderers who worked at the Governor's Mansion. Their work at the Governor’s Manson included kitchen duty, waiting tables, cleaning and washing vehicles. Among those pardoned included David Gatlin, convicted of killing his estranged wife in 1993; Joseph Ozment, convicted in 1994 of killing a man during a robbery; Anthony McCray, convicted in 2001 of killing his wife; Charles Hooker, sentenced to life in 1992 for murder; and Nathan Kern, sentenced to life in 1982 for burglary after at least two prior convictions. One of the murderers included a man who was denied parole less than two weeks ago.

Barbour’s office did not announce the pardons, which became public when family members notified the media. The Mississippi Secretary of State's office released copies of the pardons Monday afternoon. The executive order shows that Barbour had pardoned five men. In the executive orders Barbour signed, he wrote "each proved to be a diligent and dedicated workman."

In December 2010, the Governor conditionally suspended the life sentences of Jamie and Gladys Scott, two sisters who were convicted in December 24, 1993 and served 16 years for their involvement in a Forest, Mississippi armed robbery of two men. According to court document, the sisters collaborated with three teenagers and lured the two men down a road in Forest, where the men were robbed by the teens. The teens struck both men in the head with a shotgun and took their wallets containing a total of $11 dollars, according to court documents. At the time of the crime, Jamie Scott was 20 year-old and Gladys Scott was 19 year-old, both of them were mothers at the time of the crime.

Although Barbour’s decision to only commute and suspend the life sentences of the ladies was honorable; some, including myself, think the girls were almost certainly given an unjustly harsh sentence when they were sent to prison over a decade ago.

What if Barbour was wrong by stating, "each [of the murderers] proved to be a diligent and dedicated workman." What if those so-called "dedicated workman" were "eye-servants" pretending to be rehabilitated, simply because they knew that they were been watched while in the Governor's mansion?

I hate to sound negative, but I will hope those pardoned "dedicated workman" don't make the 6:00 o'clock news anytime soon.