The shooting deaths Sunday of four police officers in Parkland, Wash., and the ensuing manhunt for the suspect have sparked scrutiny of the pardon record of former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who commuted the suspect’s prison term nine years ago, leading to his release.
Huckabee is one of the Republican Party’s most popular figures, but he has been dogged by questions over the more than 1,000 commutations and pardons he issued — more than his three predecessors combined — during his 10- year tenure.
Huckabee on Sunday pointed at “a series of failures in the criminal- justice system” regarding Maurice Clemmons. Clemmons had been convicted in Arkansas in 1989 of robbery and theft and was serving a lengthy prison term when Huckabee commuted it in 2000.
Huckabee’s aides declined an interview request with the ex-governor. The Washington Post
