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Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man

By TChris, Section Innocence Cases
Posted on Thu May 04, 2006 at 02:19:06 PM EST
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by TChris

Clyde Kennard was railroaded. He was sentenced to seven years in a Mississippi prison for possessing $25 worth of stolen chicken feed. The only witness against him later recanted his testimony. His real crime was his attempt to enroll at the University of Southern Mississippi after four years in the service.

His temerity drew the ire of segregationist leaders who were determined to fight integration at USM.

Kennard died years ago, but those who want to set the record straight were hoping that Gov. Haley Barbour would award him a posthumous pardon. Not gonna happen.

"The governor hasn't pardoned anyone, whether they be alive or deceased," Barbour spokesman Pete Smith said Thursday.

After all, mere innocence -- not to mention race discrimination -- shouldn't stand in the way of preserving a criminal conviction. Law and order guys like Barbour don't want to set a precedent. Next thing you know, all the other wrongly convicted prisoners would think they deserve a pardon too.

Kennard's supporters are baffled by Barbour's stance.

"I think that the governor's response demonstrates he's prejudged this case because the parole board has not yet made a recommendation to him," Steven Drizin, legal director for the center, said Thursday.

"The reasoning the governor has put forward to date doesn't make any sense as a matter of logic or as a matter of history. He seems to be saying that 'Clyde Kennard deserves a pardon, I think he's innocent, but we don't pardon dead people.'"

To be fair, Barbour doesn't pardon living people either. He lives in a fictional world where the criminal justice system never errs, race plays no role in prosecutions, and everyone lives the same idyllic life he enjoys.

This tells you everything you need to know about Barbour:

Barbour may become the first governor in U.S. history to refuse to pardon a man he has publicly proclaimed as innocent.

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    Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man | 12 comments (12 topical)
    Re: Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man (none / 0) (#1)
    by cpinva on Thu May 04, 2006 at 02:54:17 PM EST
    nothing to say, the gov. speaks eloquently for himself.

    Re: Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu May 04, 2006 at 03:29:08 PM EST
    TChris: I agree that he should be pardoned, but I gotta ask you, where did you figure out race had anything to do with it? The story doesn't allude to that. I do think race had everything to do with his conviction, but please point out where his race has anything to do with Barbour's refusal to pardon.

    Re: Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man (none / 0) (#3)
    by Che's Lounge on Thu May 04, 2006 at 03:44:15 PM EST
    The republican party had a mantra for it, it's...oh what is the term? Shoot, and they used to ram it down our throats all the time from their faux moral high ground. Oh yeah. Compassionate Conservatism Barbour is a good republican.

    Re: Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man (none / 0) (#4)
    by jondee on Thu May 04, 2006 at 03:59:59 PM EST
    Wile - If it had everything to do with his conviction, isnt Barbour by refusing to pardon, trivializing the harm done by racism and likely appeasing the genuine racists whose support he's afraid of losing?

    Re: Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man (none / 0) (#5)
    by TChris on Thu May 04, 2006 at 04:00:47 PM EST
    My point, Wile, is that racism caused Kennard's wrongful conviction. That is the kind of deeply troubling institutional wrong that most governors would feel compelled to correct. Although I criticize his knee-jerk "law and order" refusal to pardon anyone, my post draws no other conclusions about Barbour's refusal to recognize the deeper racial issue that underlies Kennard's wrongful conviction.

    Re: Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man (none / 0) (#6)
    by scarshapedstar on Thu May 04, 2006 at 04:06:57 PM EST
    Wile, Well, when it comes to the deep south, from my experience, there is a certain merit in assuming the worst when it comes to racism, politicians, and criminal "justice". But then again, I was raised by a public defender in David Duke's hometown, so my views might be comically jaundiced.

    Re: Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu May 04, 2006 at 05:18:27 PM EST
    Scar: The problem is people are too good about assuming. You know the old saying about when you assume. Jondee: show me where he is afraid of losing support (After all dems were in charge in the deep south when he was convicted.) I would guess the old racists have not changed. TChris:
    After all, mere innocence -- not to mention race discrimination -- shouldn't stand in the way of preserving a criminal conviction.
    You may not have meant it but you gotta admit, your post is does leave it open to inference.

    Re: Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man (none / 0) (#8)
    by jondee on Thu May 04, 2006 at 06:21:48 PM EST
    Wile - If he's not afraid of his constituents reaction, why is he so afraid of issuing a pardon? Is he just plain dumb, or morally retarded?

    Re: Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu May 04, 2006 at 06:39:10 PM EST
    Jondee: He probably would not pardon a family member either.

    Re: Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man (none / 0) (#10)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu May 04, 2006 at 06:48:39 PM EST
    Barbour has been tied to a company which had ties to the New Hampshire telephone election scam. With any luck, he will be found to be a mover in the scam, convicted and sent to prison. Course bush will be tempted to pardon Barbour; I guess Barbour will turn it down, as he doesn't do pardons. Yeah, sure.

    Re: Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man (none / 0) (#11)
    by scarshapedstar on Fri May 05, 2006 at 03:12:12 AM EST
    Wile, There's just one problem with nagging all of us who "assume" he's appealing to the base. There's no other explanation. He was both absolutely innocent of the crime and his conviction was an important symbol of racist authoritarianism. There's no principled stand against that. Let's not forget what Barbour's base believes. Let's pick a random organization, say, the Council of Conservative Citizens. What's their headline right now? Ah, yes, "Multiracial youth more prone to violence say orthopsychiatrists." Let us not forget that Haley Barbour had a picture on his website of himself with these racists and refused to take it down. Let's also not forget that his popularity went up. Seriously, Wile, I've had enough time to learn how to spot a racist good-ol'-boy. I'm not saying this guy wears a white hood and lynches people, but he is an a**hole and so are his supporters. I can't imagine why you've chosen to become his apologist.

    Re: Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri May 05, 2006 at 03:40:54 AM EST
    Scar: If you read my post again, you will see I am not his apologist. I think he his wrong for not pardoning this guy, and I don't think he would pardon anyone for anything. I am not the type like many here to go throwing generalizations or insults around. Maybe that makes me appear not be worked up about it. True, I do not have the amazing ability to spot a racist good ol boy like you do. (I did see an interview with members of the new black panthers the other day when they were marching in Durham and they sounded racist to me. But I could be wrong) Like I told PIL before, maybe you should join the TSA or FBI when your schooling is done, as they can use your divining powers.

    Barbour Refuses to Pardon Innocent Man | 12 comments (12 topical)