Jackson Free Press

[Editor's Note] Rethinking "Tough on Crime"

Gov. Haley Barbour left a lot of people reeling with his recent round of pardons and clemencies. Among the list are vicious, premeditated murderers. It wasn't the first time he's …

Protesters Seek Full Pardon for Scott Sisters

Paroled sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott deserve a full pardon for their alleged 1993 crime, protesters argued today. A crowd of more than 100 marched this morning from Farish Street …

Bill for Pardon and Parole Accountability on Hold

Yesterday, the Mississippi Senate passed a bill that would make the governor's right to pardon convicted felons more accountable to their victims and to the communities where they committed their …

Dems Call for Bi-partisan Pardon Reform, Attack Barbour Apologists

This came last night, verbatim:

JACKSON-Rickey Cole, Executive Director of the Mississippi Democratic Party, praised Democrats in the legislature for their leadership in working to reform Mississippi's pardon process.Cole said, "Long before this media circus …

The Color of Clemency

Mississippi's pardon process isn't race-blind, either. A Reuters analysis, completed by Himanshu Ojha, Marcus Stern and Jackson Free Press stringer Robbie Ward, found that the more than 200 acts of …

[Balko] Clemency on Trial

Most governors grant clemency for the wrong reasons, including Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. Here's what coverage of the Huckabee/Clemons case is missing.

Pardons: ‘The Coward's Way Out'

Also see: JFP investigation of Barbour's 2008 Pardons of Domestic Killers

State Supreme Court: Barbour Pardons Valid

The roughly 200 acts of clemency Haley Barbour granted in his final days as governor are valid, according a 6-3 Mississippi Supreme Court decision handed down this afternoon.

Mississippi Pardongate: What's Next?

When state investigators caught up to convicted murderer Joseph Ozment Sunday night, he was living in a Laramie, Wyo., hotel and driving the Mercedes-Benz of his fiancée, LaChina Tillman, an …

Scott Sisters' Clemency Momentum Growing

Support for imprisoned sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott is growing as an anticipated deadline for their clemency petition nears. The sisters, who are in the 17th year of their double …

Barbour Pardons Two More Woman Killers

Gov. Haley Barbour's going-away present for Mississippi is to put a trio of convicted murderers back out on our streets, including two more who brutally murdered the women in their …

AG: Trusty Ozment Found in Wyoming

After several weeks of trying to track down pardoned governor's mansion trusty Joseph Ozment, investigators from the Mississippi attorney general's office served Ozment with court papers last night in Laramie, …

Hinds Judge Grants Extension in Pardon Case

This afternoon, Hinds County Circuit Judge Tomie Green postponed a hearing on whether to strike down reprieves former Gov. Haley Barbour granted on his final days in office. On Jan. …

Barbour Releases Long Statement: ‘I'm Not Infallable'

Gov. Haley Barbour's office just sent this statement in response to the state and national outcry over his pardons and grants of clemency. It is reprinted here verbatim:

Which Pardons Hold Up Under Legal Scrutiny?

Attorney General Jim Hood released a statement this morning, saying he has found 21 people among former Gov. Haley Barbour's 200-plus pardons who have fulfilled the constitutional requirements to receive …

Rep. Brown: Irby Clemency File Missing

Here is the statement, verbatim:

House Democrats have just released a statement from Rep. Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, on former Gov. Haley Barbour's pardons. In it, he says files are missing for several pardon recipients, including …

Barbour Gives Relief to 4 ‘Domestic' Killers, of 5 Total

Bobby Hays Clark murdered on-again, off-again girlfriend Veronica Conner in 1996 by shooting her in the neck with a 25-caliber automatic, hitting her carotid artery. Now, his record is clear, …

NY Times' Bob Herbert on 2008 JFP Report on Barbour's Domestic Murderer Pardons

In his column today, New York Times columnist Bob Herbert writes again about the need for Gov. Haley Barbour to free the Scott Sisters, who are serving life sentences for …

Scott Sisters Appear Before Parole Board

Investigations into the pardon petition for sisters Jamie and Gladys Scott have concluded, and the request for their release now awaits Gov. Haley Barbour's decision.

Hosemann Releases Barbour's Pardon Orders

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann's office released the full pack of executive orders former Gov. Haley Barbour issued to pardon or suspend the sentences of more than 200 people …