August 2 ARKANSAS: Pastors sway Huckabee--Documents show clemency granted after their pleas Documents requested from the state by a newspaper show Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is more inclined to grant clemency to inmates with whom he has a personal connection. For example, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newspaper reported Sunday that a minister Huckabee knows lobbied for Huckabee to grant clemency to John Henry Claiborne, convicted of armed robbery in 1994 and sentenced to 100 years. Rev. Charles Williams, pastor of Covenant of Zion Church in Little Rock and a Huckabee appointee to the state Claims Commission, helped promote Huckabee in the black community. Huckabee granted Claiborne clemency July 6, making him eligible for parole. Williams wrote the governor on Claiborne's behalf and spoke to the Post Prison Transfer Board, urging members to free the inmate. In his 8 years as governor, Huckabee has granted 111 sentence commutations, including 11 for murderers. He has refused to explain his decisions. Documents obtained by the newspaper under the state Freedom of Information Act revealed Williams's role in Claiborne's clemency. But Huckabee, a Baptist minister, has insisted that fellow ministers don't have undue influence with him on clemencies. "Honestly, I don't remember many that have been influenced by preachers, Baptist or otherwise," he told the newspaper. The newspaper also found that Huckabee has cut the sentences of five governor's mansion trusties. Williams said he has helped win "many, many" clemencies from Huckabee. And, ministers other than Williams have at least played a role in inmates receiving clemency. Huckabee's pastor at the Church at Rock Creek, Rev. Greg Kirksey, interceded on behalf of Donnie Clark, a repeat burglar. Huckabee cited the input of Rev. Johnny Jackson of Little Rock, a 30-year friend and, like Huckabee, a former president of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention, when he issued a notice to free Glen Martin Green, who killed an 18-year-old pregnant woman in Lonoke County. Records indicate the governor usually follows the recommendation of the parole board. Vote sheets show Huck abee overruled the board at least 10 times in granting the 111 commutations. The Green case was an example of Huckabee going against the board. Green was sentenced to life in prison for killing Helen Lynette Spencer after beating her with martial arts fighting sticks at Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, taking her to a remote location in Lonoke County and crushing her head by running over it with his car. The board unanimously rejected his clemency application, but Huckabee issued a notice saying he intended to grant clemency. (source: Associated Press)
