Huckabee: Clemency for man w/ 4 DWIs whose wife gave $10k to Arkansas Repuke Party.

[cali]

This guy is beyond contemptible.

From NBC’s Amna Nawaz, Investigative Producer
Questions are being raised about then-Gov. Huckabee's 2004 decision to grant clemency to a repeat Driving While Intoxicated offender in Arkansas named Eugene Fields, despite the objections of a law enforcement official at the time. Documents obtained by NBC News reveal Fields' case was handled differently from any other DWI clemency or pardon granted by Huckabee, and some Republicans are now suggesting significant political contributions may have influenced the governor's decision.

In August 2001, Fields, of Van Buren, Ark., was convicted of his fourth DWI charge, a felony in the state of Arkansas, was sentenced to six years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Fields reported to prison in August of 2003.

But prison records obtained by NBC News show that six weeks into that six-year sentence, Fields' application for clemency, a commutation of his sentence the governor could issue to grant Fields an early release from prison, was unanimously supported by the parole board. Within months, Huckabee issued his intent to grant executive clemency to Fields, who was released from prison soon thereafter.

On Fields' application for a commutation of his sentence, four options are listed as possible reasons as to why the application was being made, including, "I wish to correct an injustice which may have occurred during trial," and, "I want to adjust what may be considered an excessive sentence." No boxes are checked on Fields' application; instead "N/A" is written across the top of the sheet, for "Not Applicable."

<snip>

According to Federal Election Commission records, a month after Fields' appeal was denied, his wife made a $5,000 donation to the State Republican Party in June of 2003. A month later, she made an additional $5,000 donation, again to the Republican Party of Arkansas. The following month, Fields reported to prison and began his clemency application process. He was a free man in less than a year.


<snip>


http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2007/12/15/519110.aspx

[Submariner]

1. Dumbya should have been investigated like this in 2000

maybe if the 4th estate did their job we could have been saved from todays fascism.
Get the dirt out, let everyone sniff it, is the way it ought to be.

BTW, bye bye Huckster.

[cali]

2. boy is that the truth

if only they had...

[lynnertic]

4. well, fool me twice, shame on ME.

[Enrique]

5. Bush was the GOP establishment candidate

Huckabee is a threat (because he will lose the general election), so the RW machine is out to take him down.

Hopefully he'll be another Katherine Harris, who prevailed against the GOP's opposition and then got blown out by Nelson. :rofl:

[lynnertic]

3. and of course, Eugene Fields re-offended two years later, which only cost him $800

Dang - the receipt of a political campaign contribution is a get-out-of-jail-free card!

Supplementing Fields' application for clemency were tax receipts for donations totaling $1,120 made to the Salvation Army, one letter of thanks from the Arkansas Children's Hospital Foundation for a $2,500 pledge, and two more for donations made to a scholarship foundation and a Baptist Church charity.

But questions about the handling of Fields' case surfaced again in 2006 when he was convicted on another DWI charge, just two years after his release from prison. According to the police report, Fields drove into oncoming traffic on an Arkansas road and into the path of a police officer's car before crossing back into the correct lane.

Teresa Belew, executive director of MADD Arkansas, says that proves Fields should never have been granted clemency in the first place.

"Early release of an offender who has such a history only exposes the public to the likelihood of reoffending," Belew said, "which, in fact, happened in this case."

At that time, Huckabee was quoted as saying he was disappointed in Fields' actions. Today, his campaign said that after his relapse, Fields "received the maximum penalties." According to court documents, Fields paid an $800 fine and was released.

[dbt]

6. Too bad that the Corporate Media LOVES this Bloated Toad.

Compare and Contrast the PASS that they are giving him with the shit they gave Bill Clinton.

Discuss.

:rofl:

[TwilightGardener]

7. The Huckster, takin' bribes....Kickity-kick!!

[L. Coyote]

8. The perfect sucessor to Bush! Welcome to the Corrupt Bastards Club, Huckster!

If they have a qualifications standard (and that's laughable), it is probably the five-figure bribe :rofl:

[Vinca]

9. Apparently inmates who could get a preacher behind their cause

got a "get out of jail free" card.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3096850