Mississippi Pardon Mess Continues

Jackson, Ms - Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood estimates it could take up to a month before a judge decides the fate of dozens of felons pardoned by outgoing Governor Haley Barbour.

But, with Hood alleging he'll challenge the validity of as many as 170 pardons the process looks as if it may become more expensive and time consuming than expected.

"Presidents and Governors have the right to pardon and actually short of quid pro quo corruption, bribery...that pardon power is generally unreviewable," says U of M Constitutional Law Professor Steve Mulroy.

But, considering the potentially explosive and unpredictable situation about to unfold over the next month in her Hinds County Mississippi Circuit Courtroom, Judge Tomie Green, might well be wishing the chaos created by former Governor Haley Barbour's 200 pardons of convicted felons was about a simple bribery case.

Instead it figures to be a courtroom circus of lawyers, motions and arguments, where at stake is the real possibility of unleashing a Pandora's Box full of convicted felons on the general public.

"With allowing them to be released from the consequences of their crimes these individuals are then granted, reinstated the right to vote. The right to carry firearms and in the case of those committing sexual crimes even the right to not have to register as a sexual offender," says Miss. Asst. State Prosecutor Charlotte Jones.

Yet, this unprecedented challenge mounted against the pardons by crusading Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood is fraught with its own set of possible pitfalls.

With his office targeting the validity of 170 of the pardons, attorneys fees on both sides of the aisle figure to skyrocket. In the case of one criminal defendant, convicted of armed carjacking and accessory to murder, another country's government seems to have some vested interest in his fate.

What is Hood basing all these cases on? The alleged violations of an ambiguous state statute requiring those receiving pardons to publish legal notice for 30 days in a local newspaper before their release.

One defense attorney is already alleging an attorney on Hood's own staff was helping Barbour's office with legal advice on the notifications. Hood says he'll have a response to that at the next hearing. Time and money and the erosion of both, as these pardon cases parade before Judge Green, could eventually force Hood to lower his expectations of sending dozens of violent felons back behind bars. Judge Green's patience will be tested as well.

"I think we should be able to have a decision by the end...the 24th somewhere there of February," says Hood.