Jackson Free Press

The roughly 200 acts of clemency Haley Barbour granted in his final days as governor are valid, according a 6-3 Mississippi Supreme Court decision handed down this afternoon.

Citing the separation of powers doctrine in Marbury v. Madison, Presiding Justice Jess Dickinson wrote: "We hold that a facially valid pardon, issued by the governor – in whom our Constitution vests the chief-executive power of this state, and who is the head of the coequal executive branch of government – may not be set aside or voided by the judicial branch, based solely on a claim that the procedural publication requirement of Section 124 was not met or that the publication was insufficient."

In upholding the pardons, the court reversed a temporary restraining order Hinds County Circuit Court Tomie Geeen issued that required five former mansion inmate workers to check in with state corrections officials and has kept some pardonees imprisoned since early January when Barbour's pardon would have freed them.

Justice Michael K. Randolph wrote a powerfully worded dissent. "Today's decision is a stunning victory for some lawless convicted felons, and an immeasurable loss for the law-abiding citizens of our State. Our Constitution and numerous holdings of this venerable institution are turned upon their heads by this Court's relinquishing the inherent judicial function of declaring what the Constitution and our laws say. Today's decision allows some convicted felons to avoid their constitutional obligations and allows a coordinate branch to eschew multiple constitutional obligations and duties, in favor of those convicted felons and in total disregard of substantive constitutional rights reserved by the people of Mississippi," Randolph wrote.

Read the full 77-page opinion here: http://courts.ms.gov/Images/Opinions/CO76150.pdf

A spokeswoman for Attorney General Jim Hood, who brought the case to block the pardons, said his office would have a statement later.

Meanwhile, the House Democratic Caucus released the following the statement on the decision:

Today the Mississippi Supreme Court announced that the hundreds of pardons issued by outgoing Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour would not be overturned. On Tuesday, all measures to reform the pardon system died in their respective committees in the House and Senate.

In response to these events, House Democratic Caucus Leader Bobby Moak, D-Bogue Chitto, issued the following statement:

"This week marked another sad chapter in the Republican leadership's ongoing failure to fix Mississippi's pardon system. The releases earlier this year fly in the face of the justice system and create real public safety concerns for Mississippi families. Now, Republicans have compounded this problem by killing measures that would add accountability to the process.

My heart goes out to the victims' families and I want them to know that we will not rest until we achieve a more just and safe pardon system for Mississippi."

Previous Commentsshow

Sandy Middleton, director of the Center for Violence Prevention, had this to say on Facebook about the Mississippi Supreme Court's decision to support Barbour's pardons: MS Supreme Court decided to let Barbour's pardons stand!! This decision, along with the pardons, reinforces the general instinct victims have about the system. They don't trust us to protect them or to keep the bad guys in jail. This decision is heartbreaking!!

DonnaLadd

Mar 8 2012

The Attorney General's office just issued a statement: “We do respect the decision of the Court, but feel deeply for how it must weigh on the victims and their families. It is these victims and family members who have lost today and the criminals who have won. As Supreme Court Justice Mike Randolph wrote in his dissent, which was supported by Chief Justice William Waller and Justice Randy Pierce: 'Today’s decision is a stunning victory for some lawless convicted felons, and an immeasurable loss for the law-abiding citizens of our State.'” "Our lawyers were unanimous that the 30-day publication requirement in Section 124 of the Constitution was clear that the Governor had no authority to grant a pardon unless the records showed that the 30-day requirement was met. It is truly unfortunate that a majority of the Court has stricken from our Constitution a right to notice of a pardon reserved by the people of Mississippi in our 1890 Constitution. I intend to seek an initiative to amend Section 124 of our Constitution to make it very clear that the judicial branch is responsible for enforcing the 30-day notification period in the future. I am calling on all our victims groups, law enforcement and other volunteers to help me obtain the necessary signatures to place the measure on the ballot." Attorney General Jim Hood State of Mississippi

lizwaibel

Mar 8 2012

Another sad day for Mississippi. My heart breaks for the families who lost loved-ones at the hands of these murderers. What a sad mess. smh. :'(

blu_n_a_redstate

Mar 9 2012