Victim’s Families in Mississippi Are Upset - ConnieB

14. January 2012 by student.

Mississippi’s outgoing Gov. Haley Barbour spent his last day in office this week granting pardons to dozens of convicted criminals.  State records show that Barbour granted more than 200 pardons! This is the most people pardoned in Mississippi in 30 years.  The pardon shocked Mississippi and many of the victim’s families are furious with former Gov. Barbour.  Five people who worked at the Governor’s mansion, were pardoned.  Four of those five workers were convicted of murder and one of armed robbery.

The state attorney general, Jim Hood persuaded a judge to put some of the pardons on hold suggesting that Barbour may have violated the constitution.  Should the Gov. have the right to grant the pardons on his own, or should he have to consult with other people first, like the victim’s families, or the police and prosecutors?

Or, is Barbour just keeping up tradition and showing mercy to people who were convicted of crimes, but now appear to him to be rehabilitated?  After all, doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?  Can a person really be rehabilitated and forgiven?  Perhaps, it depends on the type of crime and how major or minor it was.

Is this really something the victim’s families deserve?  What about the lives lost and the people hurt because of the crimes that were committed.  Is it fair to allow a governor to simply wipe away the consequences of the crime?  Or is the governor just trying to ensure that true justice takes place?When a pardon is granted to a criminal, the pardon clear’s the convicts record.  Out of Barbour’s pardon list there were 21 murders, 8 sex offenders, and 50 violent offenders, which include assault and kidnapping charges.  What would you think of finding one of these recently pardoned people as your new neighbor?

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »