Haley Barbour makes comments on pardons | Biloxi Sun Herald

In a live press conference Friday, former Governor Haley Barbour made comments regarding his recent pardons before leaving office earlier this week.

The following are tweets from Sun Herald's Twitter feed during the press conference.

#Gov Haley Barbour live: "I am very comfortable with the decisions I've made . . . as to clemency."

#Barbour says 189 of 215 granted #pardons were not in prison.

#Barbour says only 26 #pardoned were incarcerated.

Again, #Barbour is talking about the state's cost for imprisoning medical prisoners he decided to release.

#Barbour and pardons: Talking about only 10 people who are really being released from prison.

#Barbour made "no bones" about the fact he would pardon five trusties who completed their time with him at the governors mansion.

#Barbour says four trusties convicted of murder and pardoned are unlikely to be repeat offenders.

#Gov. Barbour is saying all this on a conference call with the media. It's taken him four days to directly address his #pardons.

#Barbour says of 26 her #pardoned from jail, 13 released for medical reasons. He pointed this out the other day.

#Barbour: "I am fully confident these pardons . . . were fully valid."

#Barbour says most Mississippians are Christians. "I believe in second chances and I try hard to be forgiving."

#GovBarbour said the idea of #pardons is rooted in the Christian concept of forgiveness.

#Barbour: Realizes families have "very strong feelings" toward the convicts, "but the state is not an individual who wants vengeance."

#Gov. Barbour says 20 years "is a lot of punishment for a terrible crime."

#Barbour on #pardons: "That's what we're giving these people is a chance to have a second chance."

#Barbour on #pardons: "It is human nature, if you are close to the victim, for that to upset you."

#Gov.Barbour said he didn't anticipate "politicians" telling the public 200 people were let out of jail.

#Gov.Barbour implies Hood is challenging pardons on "very technical procedural grounds" and that's not happened before.

#Gov.Barbour said Musgrove's pardons did not involve notices. The state Constitution requires them.

#Gov.Barbour says Musgrove made no attempt to notice his #pardons, but he and @AGJimHood are both Democrats, so Hood didn't challenge.

#Gov.Barbour says major development of #pardonsby Miss. Parole Board. (Parole Board Chair Shannon Warnock AWOL since Thursday.)

AGJimHood earlier confirmed what #Barbour is now saying: Hood has governor's files on #pardons. "All they had to do was ask."

#Gov. Barbour does not believe #pardon power should be changed or limited; it gives people hope and a reason to try to do better.

#Gov. Barbour is now talking about his daddy, a Circuit Court judge, who had an inmate to help him after he got sick.

#Gov. Barbour says inmate, Leon Turner, helped raise him. Young #Haley watched "the power of a second chance" firsthand.

#Gov. Barbour sounded as if he was getting a little choked up when talking about inmate Leon Turner, who helped raise him, he said.

#Gov. Barbour is quoting Jesus: "Forgive those who have trespassed against you."

#Gov. Barbour: "A lot of these people requested #pardons during my first term." #Katrina and other duties kept him too busy.

#Barbour says his office checked notification requirements, delivered notices on behalf of mansion trusties Dec. 8.

#Barbour says of trusty #pardon notices: "We found out some of them didn't get published until (Dec.) 13th and 14th."

#Barbour: On remaining #pardons, the convicts (he called them "applicants) had responsibility of public notice.

#Barbour: Had he realized people would think 215 people let out of prison, he said, "I would have tried to get it corrected."

#Barbour on #pardons: "We're talking about redemption here . . . The Scott sisters never said they were sorry."

#Barbour on #redo: "I would have gotten out of the governor's way on Tuesday, but I would have been top on what was being published."

#Barbour: "We're essentially giving 10 people their freedom." He told the trusties he would pardon them if they completed his term.

#Barbour: It would have been better to send the legal notices a couple of days sooner than they did.

#Barbour on #pardons: "I didn't foresee this would be all about politics."

#GovBarbour, to recap, says his #pardons were rooted in the Christian concept of forgiveness.

Gov.Barbour on five mansion trusties, four convicted of murder: "I'd let my grandchildren play with these five men."

#Gov. Barbour says re #pardons: "I'm not infallible. I can't tell you that one of these 215 people won't do something wrong."

#GovBarbour got tired of talking about #pardons, but he did take some questions from the media during conference call before saying, "Bye."

Sun Herald updates this story in Saturday's edition.

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