Opinion: Don’t blame Huckabee for deaths of four Lakewood officers

This is not Huck’s fault.

I know he is a popular scapegoat right now in the murders of four Lakewood police officers, but blaming Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee for any part of this mess is a real stretch, especially for a guy who did exactly what you want a governor to do.

To be clear, I am not a Huckabee supporter. I don’t agree with any of his politics and would never in a million years vote for him.

But this is not Huck’s fault.

As you probably know, the man who murdered the four Lakewood officers this past Sunday had spent some time in the joint in Arkansas and had his sentence reduced by then-governor Huckabee, who has something of a history of leniency when it comes to his pardon and commutation powers.

Because of this, Huckabee – a surprise contender for the 2008 Republican nomination and early headliner in the 2012 race – has been catching a lot of grief for letting this guy out of prison.

But here’s the thing, Huckabee DID NOT let this guy out of prison, and even if he had, it was nearly 10 years ago, well before Arkansas rescinded the warrant for him and Pierce County judges settled on ridiculously low bail requirements for a guy who was facing EIGHT FELONY CHARGES (including child rape) this summer.

Huckabee did what we want governors to do: He looked at the file and determined that the courts had been too harsh on this guy and reduced the sentence.

Let me say that again, because it is important: He reduced the sentence, he did not let him out of jail or pardon him.

Here are the facts: Maurice Clemmons, the accused cop killer, was arrested in Arkansas as a 16-year-old for burglary and robbery and possession of a firearm (which was not used in the robbery, a purse-snatching). He was found guilty in 1989 and sentenced to 108 years in prison, which is a crazy sentence for those crimes, especially for a 16-year-old with no prior record.

After serving 11 years, Clemmons petitioned Huckabee for clemency. After reviewing the case – including the recommendation from the parole board and reportedly the judge who sentenced him – Huckabee thought the sentence was a bit overboard and reduced it to 47 years, giving Clemmons the possibility of parole.

But he did not let him out, the Arkansas parole board did. Had they denied parole, he’d still be in jail in Little Rock today.

The story picks up again this year when Clemmons was arrested again and charged with the aforementioned eight felonies, according to an extremely thorough piece in the Seattle Times.

Around that time, Pierce County discovered there was a warrant for Clemmons out of Arkansas and contacted that state, who reportedly tried to wash their hands of the whole matter, essentially saying “never mind that whole warrant thing. We don’t want him, good luck.”

Had the Arkansas warrant not been rescinded (which it did after apparently talking to Clemmons’ mother, who has been dead for years) or had they properly filed the second warrant, which according to the Times, Pierce County “pleaded” for so they could keep this guy locked up, Clemmons would never had the chance to commit his heinous crime.

According to the Times, the second warrant left unchecked a box about returning the prisoner and was not entered into the national database that other states check to see if there are outstanding warrants.

So after Arkansas decided to dump it garbage on us, Pierce County set about the process for prosecuting this guy. And since we are still in America, there has to be a presumption of innocence and a handful of hearings.

In Washington, the only crimes for which someone can be held without bail are capital offenses so Clemmons had to be eligible for bail.

Because he was quite obviously crazy and a flight risk, Pierce County Prosecutors asked for a total of $300,000 bail. The judges set bail at $190,000 and Clemmons convinced a local bondsman to put up bail for him, springing him from the pokey and setting into motion the terrible events of this past Sunday.

But again, none of that would be necessary if Arkansas a) did not rescind its original warrant for the guy and b) properly filed the second warrant in October.

So clearly, there is plenty of blame to go around here. Initially, I thought it rested mainly with Pierce County for letting this guy out on reduced bail – which I admit was tough to say because of what they’ve been through down there – but it is really starting to look to me like the fault here is in Arkansas.

But not with Huckabee. To blame Huck is crazy and unfair. You might as well blame his neighborhood pharmacist for not selling his father condoms.

Huckabee did exactly what governors are supposed to do: reviewed the case and determined that the sentence was too harsh for the crimes committed. Using his executive powers, he reduced the sentence (47 years is still a long time) of someone who committed a (non-killing, non-rape) crime as a teenager. That’s why governors have that power.

So yes, there is plenty of blame to go around here, but scapegoating Huckabee does nothing but distract us from where the real changes need to be made to ensure this doesn’t happen again: Arkansas and Pierce County.

Brian Beckley is a staff writer for the Kent Reporter. Contact him at bbeckley@kentreporter.com.