Mike Huckabee

====Clemencies====
{{Further|2009 Lakewood shooting|Wayne DuMond|Maurice Clemmons}}

As governor, Huckabee commuted and accepted recommendations for pardon for twice as many sentences as his 3 predecessors combined; in total: 1,033 prisoners.<ref name=" DeMillo ">{{cite news | url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-12-10-huckabee-pardons_N.htm|title= Huckabee Pardons Under Scrutiny |last= DeMillo| first=Andrew |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |agency= Associated Press|date=December 10, 2007|access-date=December 6, 2009}}</ref> Twelve had previously been convicted of murder.<ref name=" Tapper ">{{cite news | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=3983797&page=1|title= Huckabee's Plethora of Pardons, Former Arkansas Governor Faces Scrutiny for Having a Forgiving Spirit|last= Tapper|first= Jake |publisher=[[ABC News]] |date=December 11, 2007|access-date=December 6, 2009}}</ref> Though Huckabee pardoned more than his predecessors, the state prison size and number of people executed were greater as well,<ref>Associated Press (December 10, 2007). [http://www.foxnews.com/story/2007/12/10/mike-huckabee-clemency-record-is-under-scrutiny Mike Huckabee's Clemency Record Is Under Scrutiny.] Fox News. Retrieved January 6, 2015.</ref> Huckabee denied 92% of all clemency requests during his 10.5 years as governor.<ref name="responsibility">{{Cite web |title=Huckabee: 'I take full responsibility" for shooting suspect's clemency - CNN.com |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/01/washington.police.huckabee/index.html?iref=24hours |access-date=2024-04-09 |website=edition.cnn.com |language=en}}</ref> Most pardons and commutations were not for prisoners but for those whose sentences had ended and who were seeking work.<ref>Adair, B. (December 28, 2007). [http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2007/dec/28/mitt-romney/yes-huckabee-pardoned-many/ Yes, Huckabee Pardoned Many.] PolitiFact. Retrieved January 6, 2015.<br />Tapper, J. (December 11, 2007). [https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Vote2008/story?id=3983797&page=1&singlePage=true Huckabee's Plethora of Pardons.] ABC News. Retrieved January 6, 2015.</ref> Huckabee's pardons and commutations became an issue during the [[Republican Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008|2008 Republican Primary]], with most of the controversy focusing on [[Wayne Dumond]].<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2007-12-10-huckabee-pardons_N.htm|title= Huckabee Pardons Under Scrutiny |last= DeMillo| first=Andrew |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |agency= Associated Press|date=December 10, 2007|access-date=December 6, 2009}}<br />{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/huckabee-freed-criminals/story?id=9207095 |title=Huckabee Helped Set Rapist Free Who Later Killed Missouri Woman |last=Schone |first=Mark |date=November 30, 2009 |publisher=[[ABC News]] |access-date=January 9, 2015}}</ref>

Huckabee's handling of clemency petitions received national attention in November 2009 with the case of [[Maurice Clemmons]], who had committed burglary without a weapon at 16. The Prison Transfer Board unanimously requested a sentence commutation for Clemmons as did the trial judge.<ref name=responsibility/> Clemmons's 60-year sentence was commuted by Huckabee to 47 years, making him eligible for parole if approved by the parole board. After parole in 2000, Clemmons was arrested for multiple offenses including [[child molestation]] and [[aggravated assault]] but was released after prosecutors declined to file charges. After Clemmons murdered four police officers in [[Lakewood, Washington]], a two-day manhunt ensued, and Clemmons was shot and killed by a [[Seattle Police Department]] officer after refusing police orders to stop charging the officer.<ref name="SeaTimes01Dec">{{cite news|url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010393433_webarrest01m.html |title=Lakewood police shooting suspect killed by Seattle police officer in South Seattle early this morning |last=Sullivan |first=Jennifer |author2=Mark Rahner |author3=Jack Broom |date=December 1, 2009 |newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]] |access-date=December 1, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204124651/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010393433_webarrest01m.html |archive-date=December 4, 2009 }}</ref> In his book about the shooting, ''The Other Side of Mercy'', Jonathan Martin of ''[[The Seattle Times]]'' wrote that Huckabee apparently failed to review Clemmons's prison file, which was "thick with acts of violence and absent indications of rehabilitation".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://blogs.seattletimes.com/opinionnw/2013/12/18/mike-huckabees-maurice-clemmons-problem/|title=Mike Huckabee's Maurice Clemmons problem|last=Martin|first=Jonathan|publisher=[[The Seattle Times]]|date=December 18, 2013|access-date=January 4, 2015|archive-date=April 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402154503/http://blogs.seattletimes.com/opinionnw/2013/12/18/mike-huckabees-maurice-clemmons-problem/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Huckabee defended his actions, stating that the recommendation to reduce the sentence was unanimous and supported by the trial judge, that the decision to parole him was made by the parole board, not him, and that Clemmons had been re-arrested and the decision not to file charges then had nothing to do with him.<ref>Huckabee, M. (December 1, 2009). [http://humanevents.com/2009/12/01/washington-state-tragedy Washington State Tragedy.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124171143/https://humanevents.com/2009/12/01/washington-state-tragedy/ |date=November 24, 2020 }} ''Human Events.'' Retrieved January 6, 2015.<br />Smith, B. (October 18, 2010). [http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/1010/Huckabees_clemency.html Huckabee's Clemency.] ''Politico''. Retrieved January 6, 2015.<br />{{cite news |last=Sterling |first=Amanda |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/12/01/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5854298.shtml |title=Huckabee Calls Criticisms Over Clemency "Disgusting" – Political Hotsheet |publisher=[[CBS News]] |date=December 1, 2009 |access-date=June 13, 2010 }}</ref><ref name="ST1129">{{Cite news|title=Suspect let out of Pierce County jail one week ago |newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]] |location=[[Seattle, Washington]] |date=November 29, 2009 |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010386501_clemmons30m.html |access-date=November 30, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091203102157/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2010386501_clemmons30m.html |archive-date=December 3, 2009 }}</ref>