Does Mike Huckabee Have a “Willie Horton” Problem?

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Remember how Roger Ailes and Lee Atwater used this fearmongering ad to destroy the Michael Dukakis presidential campaign in 1988? (This was one version of the ad)

George H. W. Bush's campaign manager, Lee Atwater, predicted that "by the time this election is over, Willie Horton will be a household name." Media consultant Roger Ailes remarked "the only question is whether we depict Willie Horton with a knife in his hand or without it." Willie Horton – Wikipedia

Well, former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee who now hosts a program for the very same Roger Ailes' Faux News network may have his very own "Willie Horton" problem.

In tragic news out of Washington state, four police officers were gunned down in a coffee shop on Sunday. 4 Wash. police officers killed at coffee shop Buried in the body of this report was this factoid:

[Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer] told reporters that Maurice Clemmons, 37, was one of several people investigators want to talk to and that he could not be called a suspect at this point.

In a news release, the Sheriff's Office said Clemmons has an extensive violent criminal history from Arkansas, including aggravated robbery and theft. Clemmons also recently was arrested in Pierce County and was charged with third-degree assault on a police officer and second-degree rape of a child.

In 1989, Clemmons, then 17, was convicted in Little Rock for aggravated robbery. He was paroled in 2000 after then-Gov. Mike Huckabee commuted Clemmons' 95-year prison sentence. Huckabee, who was criticized during his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 for the number of clemencies and commutations he granted, cited Clemmons' age at the time of the sentence.

After his release from prison, Clemmons violated his parole and was returned to prison in July 2001. He was released March 18, 2004, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper.

In breaking news this morning, Maurice Clemmons was believed to be holed up in his home where police spent the night trying to negotiate with him to no response. Police believed that he was wounded and may have died from his injuries. Police entered the home this morning and discovered that Clemmons was not there. Police: Suspect in deaths of officers not in house (w/slide show):

Negotiators spent the night trying to communicate with 37-year-old Maurice Clemmons, using loudspeakers, explosions and even a robot to try to prod him from hiding. But when they entered the home, he was not there.

Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said the location of Clemmons is not known, and it’s possible he may still be in the neighborhood staked out overnight by Seattle police. Troyer also says people who know Clemmons told investigators that he had been shot in the torso.

He is suspected of killing the officers as they worked at a coffee shop Sunday morning. Clemmons has a long rap sheet, and once had a 95-year prison sentence commuted by the governor of Arkansas [Mike Huckabee].

I want to caution readers that this comes from AP reporting in the Arizona Daily Star and may not yet be verified by the AP reporters. Maurice Clemmons is a suspect and remains at large. It is not confirmed that he is the gunman responsible for shooting the police officers. And it is not yet confirmed that this is the same Maurice Clemmons whom Governor Huckabee is reported to have commuted his sentence in 2000. We will follow this story as more details become available.

UPDATE: The Seattle Times reported today Former Arkansas Gov. Huckabee has controversial record of freeing criminals

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's record of freeing criminals from prison was controversial even before news that the man sought for questioning in the killing of four Lakewood police officers had a lengthy prison sentence commuted by Huckabee.

The one-time Republican presidential contender granted twice as many pardons and commutations as the previous three governors of Arkansas combined, The Associated Press reported in 2007.

In all, he issued 1,033 pardons and commutations during more than 10 years as governor — an average of about one every four days.

Maurice Clemmons, the man police were searching for Sunday night, faced decades in prison for robberies and other charges when his sentence was commuted by Huckabee in 2000. Clemmons later was sent back to prison after violating parole, but was released again five years ago.

Clemmons was released from jail in Pierce County six days ago after posting bond. He'd spent the past several months in jail on a charge of child rape. His release came even though he faced seven additional felony charges in Washington state.

Huckabee issued a written statement Sunday night through his daughter and spokeswoman, Sarah Huckabee, saying the "senseless and savage execution" of the police officers "has saddened the nation."

If Clemmons is found to be responsible, Huckabee's statement said, "it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington state."

The statement said Clemmons had been recommended for commutation and that his release was approved by the state parole board.

Huckabee noted that Clemmons later was arrested for parole violations but was released after prosecutors failed to press new charges that could have kept him in prison.

"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," he said.

(click here to read Huckabee's statement in its entirety)