Huckabee on parole of suspect in Seattle cop killings

As The Times and others have reported, the man police are seeking in the shooting deaths of four Seattle officers this weekend had a 95-year prison sentence in Arkansas commuted by then-Gov. Mike Huckabee following the man’s parole in 2000.

Maurice Clemmons, the suspect, continued to evade police today. He has been described as having a long and violent criminal history in Arkansas. (Follow latimes.com for the latest developments in the hunt for the gunman.)

In a statement Sunday, Huckabee blamed Clemmons’ situation on "a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington state." In the statement Huckabee does not mention his role in handling Clemmons’ case. Here is the former governor’s statement, as prepared for his website:

The senseless and savage execution of police officers in Washington State has saddened the nation, and early reports indicate that a person of interest is a repeat offender who once lived in Arkansas and was wanted on outstanding warrants here and Washington State. The murder of any individual is profound tragedy, but the murder of a police officer is the worst of all murders in that it is an assault on every citizen and the laws we live within.

Should he be found to be responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State. He was recommended for and received a commutation...

... of his original sentence from 1990, making him parole eligible and was paroled by the parole board once they determined he met the conditions at that time. He was arrested later for parole violation and taken back to prison to serve his full term, but prosecutors dropped the charges that would have held him. It appears that he has continued to have a string of criminal and psychotic behavior but was not kept incarcerated by either state. This is a horrible and tragic event and if found and convicted the offender should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our thoughts and prayers are and should be with the families of those honorable, brave, and heroic police officers.

-- Steve Padilla

Comments

[John]

Huckabee should be held accountable for releasing this maniac 9 years ago just as much as the judge who released him 6 days ago. $15000.00 bond (10% of the $150,000) for the rape of a child. C'mon!!!

[homer]

excuses excuses, its everybody else's fault accept his.

[PA Reader]

A Republican Willie Horton?

[george]

It does not mattet WHAT KIND of childhood this mutt had. If he, or anyone shows a propensity to endnager others, then they need to be locked up for not just the crime they are sentenced for, but the safety of the public. THAT is the point of prison. Sadly, the Governor and others don't get this. 605 of all Prisoners re-offend within 6 months of relase. THAT is a lot of rapes, roberies, murders, kidnappings, assaults, and drug dealings. Keep em in. God Bless the families of the Police Officers. My prayers are with you.

[C Goldberg]

I think it is egregious that Mike Huckabee is trying to shift the oness onto the other officials when it is Mike Huckabee that unleashed the killer with a very violent past onto the public. If I were a victim I would sue the pants off of Mike Huckabee and his philandering with the safety of his CONSTITUENTS.

All these politicians seem to think they are above the law like Barry Seals being pardoned...or many white collar criminals being pardoned.

Seems the governement has dropped the ball on many things: chronic wars, inability to enforce the standing laws on the border, refusal to see warnings like in Texas recently with the 'homicidal military Muslim doctor and even 911-all the advance trading and missing gold, the misuse of the peoples trust...one has to wonder about all the tragedies that seem more contrived than not when the complete picture is examined. When the infrastructure is purposefully ignored as in the leavees at New Orleans-for years it was known they needed to be redone and reinforced or a tragedy would happen...instead we are fighting the world over and people stationed in Korea and China and Poland, Russia, Haiti, etc...it is evident we cannot be the worlds policeman, nor attack countries that had no part in our current standing=it is time to correct what is in the 'home' and then lead from there, as we use to be known as leaders and now as warmongers... IMHO

[Laura]

You can only blame Huckaby so much because he may have given the guy a second chance but after that:" He was arrested later for parole violation and taken back to prison to serve his full term, but prosecutors dropped the charges that would have held him. " so the justice system dropped the ball after that point. He had his second chance he blew it and then the justice system blew it.

[The Law Office of Levinson Axelrod]

He should not have been released. Period.