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US Governor pardons 428 on leaving Office


Eldorado

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"Former Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin issued 428 pardons in his final days in office, a list that includes multiple violent offenders.

"The Republican pardoned a convicted child rapist as well as a convicted murderer whose brother raised money for Mr Bevin's election campaign.

"Mr Bevin was defeated by Democrat Andy Beshear in November after a contentious election.

"The flurry of pardons sent shockwaves through the state's legal system.

"State prosecutors told local media they had not been consulted on Mr Bevin's decision, and families of the victims were not notified in advance."

Full monty at the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-50786368

 

"The beneficiaries include one offender convicted of raping a child, another who hired a hit man to kill his business partner and a third who killed his parents."

Full story at NPR: https://www.npr.org/2019/12/13/787811560/on-his-way-out-kentucky-gov-matt-bevin-pardons-murderers-rapists-hundreds-more?

Edited by Eldorado
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4 minutes ago, Eldorado said:

"Former Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin issued 428 pardons in his final days in office, a list that includes multiple violent offenders.

"The Republican pardoned a convicted child rapist as well as a convicted murderer whose brother raised money for Mr Bevin's election campaign.

"Mr Bevin was defeated by Democrat Andy Beshear in November after a contentious election.

"The flurry of pardons sent shockwaves through the state's legal system.

"State prosecutors told local media they had not been consulted on Mr Bevin's decision, and families of the victims were not notified in advance."

Full monty at the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-50786368

 

"The beneficiaries include one offender convicted of raping a child, another who hired a hit man to kill his business partner and a third who killed his parents."

Full story at NPR: https://www.npr.org/2019/12/13/787811560/on-his-way-out-kentucky-gov-matt-bevin-pardons-murderers-rapists-hundreds-more?

Can the prosecutor make the pardons null and void?  Or the new governor?

What a **** way to leave office.

Edited by Desertrat56
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16 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

Can the prosecutor make the pardons null and void?  Or the new governor?

I doubt it.

"The governors of most of the 50 states have the power to grant pardons or reprieves for offenses under state criminal law."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pardon

50-State Comparison -- Characteristics of Pardon Authorities

https://ccresourcecenter.org/state-restoration-profiles/50-state-comparisoncharacteristics-of-pardon-authorities/

Edited by Eldorado
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What exactly was the logic behind giving Presidents and Govenors the ability to pardon?

Was it suppose to be an option for final appeal or something.

Edited by spartan max2
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7 minutes ago, spartan max2 said:

What exactly was the logic behind giving Presidents and Govenors the ability to pardon?

Was it suppose to be an option for final appeal or something.

Good question, maybe to allow them to right a wrong conviction at the last minute before execution?

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9 minutes ago, spartan max2 said:

What exactly was the logic behind giving Presidents and Govenors the ability to pardon?

Was it suppose to be an option for final appeal or something.

"The presidential power to pardon was derived from the royal English Prerogative of Kings, which dated from before the Norman invasion. The royal power was absolute, and the king often granted a pardon in exchange for money or military service. Parliament tried unsuccessfully to limit the king's pardon power, and finally it succeeded to some degree in 1701 when it passed the Act of Settlement, which exempted impeachment from the royal pardon power.

"During the period of the Articles of Confederation, the state constitutions conferred pardon powers of varying scopes on their governors, but neither the New Jersey Plan nor the Virginia Plan presented at the Constitutional Convention included a pardon power for the chief executive."

https://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/2/essays/89/pardon-power

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48 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said:

Good question, maybe to allow them to right a wrong conviction at the last minute before execution?

That'd be my guess.  It's outrageous that this guy would turn violent or sexual offenders loose on the public again.  No one can hold him accountable if one of those reoffends by raping another kid or murdering another person for cash... Outrageous.

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5 minutes ago, and then said:

That'd be my guess.  It's outrageous that this guy would turn violent or sexual offenders loose on the public again.  No one can hold him accountable if one of those reoffends by raping another kid or murdering another person for cash... Outrageous.

Maybe they could.  THere must be some way since it seems like his actions in pardoning them is vindictive.

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3 hours ago, Desertrat56 said:

Maybe they could.  THere must be some way since it seems like his actions in pardoning them is vindictive.

I'd like to hope so but usually a chief executive with that power cannot be sued for making a "mistake" in the choice of who to release.  I'm not even sure selling pardons is illegal due to the difficulty of proving the cash wasn't just a "campaign donation".  

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1 hour ago, Tatetopa said:

Well, 428 at the last minute would not seem to indicate a lot of time to study individual cases and correct injustices.

It sounds like the guy was TRYING to upset people and potentially cause mayhem.  I mean, WHO the HELL frees a child rapist?  A hired killer?  Who would do that?  It'd be interesting - or maddening - to be able to look at his bank account before and after.  

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8 minutes ago, and then said:

I'd like to hope so but usually a chief executive with that power cannot be sued for making a "mistake" in the choice of who to release.  I'm not even sure selling pardons is illegal due to the difficulty of proving the cash wasn't just a "campaign donation".  

And therein lies the problem with campaign donations.  We need to stop that and get rid of lobbyists.

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1 hour ago, and then said:

t sounds like the guy was TRYING to upset people and potentially cause mayhem.  I mean, WHO the HELL frees a child rapist?  A hired killer?  Who would do that?  It'd be interesting - or maddening - to be able to look at his bank account before and after.  

Yeah.  I can see a few pardons maybe where he actually looked at the case and researched a decision and could say why he thought a pardon was the right thing.  I think there was even one who killed a woman and beheaded her.   Hard to understand unless as you say it was intentional mayhem.  

Last quote I heard is that he is a strong believer in second chances.

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40 minutes ago, Tatetopa said:

Yeah.  I can see a few pardons maybe where he actually looked at the case and researched a decision and could say why he thought a pardon was the right thing.  I think there was even one who killed a woman and beheaded her.   Hard to understand unless as you say it was intentional mayhem.  

Last quote I heard is that he is a strong believer in second chances.

Pardoning a murder who beheaded his victim, lets hope he knows something that is left unsaid because that is one hell of a Second Chance.

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I find hope in the fact that Republicans on here are not trying to defend this guy. 

 

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20 hours ago, Tatetopa said:

Last quote I heard is that he is a strong believer in second chances.

Apparently, the second chance was to give them another shot at destroying lives.  I mean, it's possible that not a single one of his pardons will reoffend.  But taking a chance on the murderers and those who destroy a child's life is beyond the pale.  I just can't get my mind around that degree of absence of empathy for the victims.

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42 minutes ago, GlitterRose said:

I find hope in the fact that Republicans on here are not trying to defend this guy. 

 

I doubt you'd be able to easily find any Republican who wouldn't be outraged at this.  When I heard he was a Republican I got angrier than I would had he been a Dem.  I guess it goes to show that both parties elect people who are fundamentally not right in the head.

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If the guy was a believer in second chances he would have pardoned people imprisoned for minor drug related crimes, not murders.  His pardons are completely vindictive.

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2 hours ago, Desertrat56 said:

His pardons are completely vindictive.

I don't know enough of the details to go that far but I find his choices inexcusable no matter his motivation.  I believe in redemption but I also believe it's rarely rewarded to the extent we hope it will be.  This guy put the lives of his citizens in needless jeopardy just the same as the politicians that allow illegals to be sheltered from the Feds when there are warrants on them for crimes other than being here illegally.  Politicians could benefit from reading the physician's oath about "First, do no harm"  Stealing through taxation and frustrating people through needless rules and regs is one thing.  Putting their children in real danger is quite another.

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20 hours ago, GlitterRose said:

I find hope in the fact that Republicans on here are not trying to defend this guy. 

 

This guy also lost the gov race in Kentucky, a highly red state, because he was so disliked by everyone for corruption, no suprise watching him pardon like this before he leaves.

Something I find concerning though is how much Trump was trying to back this guy's reelection...

Edited by spartan max2
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