November 29, 2009 - 11:14 PM

Statement Regarding Washington State Slayings

by Press Team

The senseless and savage execution of police officers in Washington State has saddened the nation, and early reports indicate that a person of interest is a repeat offender who once lived in Arkansas and was wanted on outstanding warrants here and in Washington State. The murder of any individual is a profound tragedy, but the murder of a police officer is the worst of all murders in that it is an assault on every citizen and the laws we live within.

Should he be found to be responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State. He was recommended for and received a commutation of his original sentence from 1990, this commutation made him parole eligible and he was then paroled by the parole board once they determined he met the conditions at that time. He was arrested later for parole violation and taken back to prison to serve his full term, but prosecutors dropped the charges that would have held him. It appears that he has continued to have a string of criminal and psychotic behavior but was not kept incarcerated by either state. This is a horrible and tragic event and if found and convicted the offender should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. Our thoughts and prayers are and should be with the families of those honorable, brave, and heroic police officers.

Comment (74 Comments)
Share on Facebook
Send to a friend
AddThis Social Bookmark Button

Comments 51-73 of 73

  • Stevens, J

    11/30/2009 11:31 AM

    Too much passive voice in this statement to make it meaningful.

  • Magly, Skip

    11/30/2009 11:25 AM

    Mike:

    My deepest sympathies to you and the families of the slain officers, this is a horrible tragedy.

    It is highly regrettable that it was a man whose sentence you commuted. I can remember a day in a country when this would not have mattered politically as it does today. I fear that this has ruined any political aspirations you may have had for the future. He would become your Willie Horton. I do not believe that this prevents you from following your beliefs and serving the nation.

    Unlike some I am not prepared to sit in judgement of you on this, that is not MY job, and it is not a responsibility I want. Clearly a mistake was made and that should be the end of it.

    I hope you and your family have Merry Christmas in spite of this tragedy which I am sure weighs very heavily on your heart. I do think it that it would probably be a good idea, regardless, for you to publish the details about the Clemmons case as you knew them almost 20 years ago. I fear this kind of thing happens all too frequently in all aspects. This not really any different from those Gitmo POWs who were released and returned to the battlefield to attack American soldiers.

    We as a society must recognize that, sadly, a criminal once will always be so. As I get increasingly older in my own life I find myself becoming more and more hard line with regards to criminals and all the cries for leniency for any given criminal tend to fall on deaf ears in my case. Including the Democrat idea of giving voting rights to such people. I am reminded of a very old saw...."If you can't do the time then don't do the crime." Loss of personal liberty and rights as a citizen including voting are a part of the price to be paid. All governors, in this country need to touch base with this concept. Even the POTUS, let's remember that we once had a President who in his final days office released terrorists from prison and pardoned a financier who was guilty of fraud and evading justice for many years.

    None of us have totally clean hands

    Skip Magly

  • GUY, 0321

    11/30/2009 11:24 AM

    ""...The following March, Clem-mons committed two armed robberies and other crimes and was sentenced to 10 years. You'd think they'd keep him locked up after that, but no: He was paroled last March and is now wanted for aggravated robbery....""

    First off, I am not a supporter of the Governor nor do I play one while watching TV. That being said, Governor Huckabee gave this guy a second chance in 2000 and this guy blew it 7 months later which landed him back in jail. Some idiot in the Arkansas Parole Board gave this guy a third chance for some stupid reason. It is this idiot or group of idiots that need to be drug to court and be held liable for releasing this guy back into the wild. The man was 17 at the time of conviction/sentencing.

    I fail to see the point trying to be made here in that the Governor is somehow responsible for this guys latest operation of permanent dispatch?

    The sentences in quotes is all the proof one needs to see the Governor's hands are clean in this matter. Governor Huckabee left office on Jan. 9, 2007. This guy was recently paroled, March 2008, after the Governor left office.

    Many Governors commute sentences every year and it is always a role of the dice in most cases "if" the 'releasee' will venture back to their old ways and wind up back in custody or truly repent and do the right thing so they can secure their supervised freedom for the rest of their lives.

    Again the burden of fault lays squarely on the feet of the inept Arkansas State Parole Board and the Washington State Court System, not the Governors.

  • Newcomb, Ronda

    11/30/2009 11:17 AM

    Four Washington State police dead a sad and tragic act of violence by possible suspect Maurice Clemmons age 37. If indeed he commented these crimes he should be prosecuted to the fullest. With my husband being a retired Chief of Police you fear the worst when they are on duty and pray they come home each day learn to except the worst could happen in the midst of a crime. The slaying of these 4 officers was not about the line of duty it was about what they represented in the eyes of a criminal. That criminal made that decision to murder 4 officers but the sad thing is because he was commuted by Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2000 after serving a sentence of 11 years for armed robbery when he was 17 years old the focus will be taken away from the crimes that were committed by this worthless mistake of a human being. All focus will be on Gov. Huckabee. Not the parole board who released him, not the persons who rally for pardons to be part of our system, not the Court System who has released this person of interest time and time again, no the press being as democratic as it is will take this horrific horrible crime who was committed by one person and one person alone the KILLER and use it against Gov. Huckabee who came second in the Republican Presidential Contest. They will slam Gov. Huckabee every chance they get if he runs again in 2012 for President. Did I vote for Gov, Huckabee yes, do I write this because I’d vote for him again, no I write this because I’m sick and tired of injustice for justified people. What a sad, sad world we live in. All I can say is:
    GOD HELP US ALL


  • Barajas, Eduardo

    11/30/2009 09:54 AM

    Our current justice system is indeed a CRIMINAL justice system. It's mission is to do things TO or FOR individual criminals (i.e. punishment, rehabilitation). It is not a PUBLIC SAFETY model of justice.

    Add to that the misguided "compassion" of certain public officials toward those individual criminals and you have a recipe for disaster. Community safety should be the focus of all compassion. Christians, of all people, should embrace replacing the current CRIMINAL justice system with a COMMUNITY (safety) justice system.

  • Hughes, Kathy

    11/30/2009 09:53 AM

    I agree with Gee, Ann. If you bear any responsibility at all, you MUST own up to it. I am so sick of politicians always blaming everyone else but themselves for what they've messed up. How the heck are we to teach our children personal responsibility when all they see is adults who refuse to do so??

  • Amanda Butt

    11/30/2009 09:51 AM

    Hi Ann Gee,

    Referring to your comment, if you agree that Gov. Huckabee could not have imagined what would happen in the future, why are you holding him accountable? If it should never happen again...tell us how a MAN can read hearts like God does? If it can never happen again, then we will have to outlaw pardoning people because man cannot possibly read hearts! The best of the best can commit horrific crimes years on down the road. Nobody can possibly know what another person will do!

  • Amanda Butt

    11/30/2009 09:45 AM

    I am amazed at those that are being so critical and judgmental, and placing blame where it shouldn't be placed! The person that committed the crime is the person that should be blamed! The person that only knows what is in his heart should be blamed! Governor Huckabee IS NOT RESPONSIBLE for someone elses actions especially a decade later!

    Each of us goes through a time in our lives where we choose to go a direction other than what God wants us to...even after we have been "saved"! Does that make it God's fault that he saved us when we chose to repent and obey His gospel...and then years later stopped following HIM...but instead followed the other master (SATAN), Rom. 6:16? Of course it isn't God's fault! Why? BECAUSE HE GAVE EACH OF US FREE WILL!!!!! How can Gov. Huckabee control the hearts of others when God/Jesus choose not to control hearts that they can in fact read!

    Those of you that are quick to blame or are trying to hold Gov. Huckabee accountable... you need to step back and examine your own life and see if you are living the life that God expects you to! You need to repent of being judgmental! We don't have the right to judge!

    It's a sin to judge another by placing blame on them. Leave that up to God!

  • Gee, Ann

    11/30/2009 09:22 AM

    Sir, you as a Christian man, must face up to your mistake. This is the problem with wearing conservatism on your sleeve but behaving as a social liberal. You cannot have it both ways. Obviously, this is not the horrible outcome of your decision in 1990 that you could have ever imagined, but this must NEVER happen again.

  • Martino, Linda

    11/30/2009 09:14 AM

    As I read this statement many share in the responsibility for allowing a dangerous man to roam the streets. It lists many except Mike Huckabee. I would have been more impressed if Mr. Huckanee took some responsibility instead of naming everyone else. Either name all or don't list anyone. One can forgive crimes without releasing them to the public. Even if someone was 17, getting a 95 year sentence was surely not done lightly. Commuting a 95 sentence has risks and this one certainly had terrible consequences. The woman he raped and the 4 dead officers and their families have paid a horrible price for others failure of judgment. Don't pass the buck. Forgiveness has to be balanced with protecting the public. The public was not protected. The unusual number of commutations and pardons done as governor is a fair issue to raise when someone wants to run for president as that office involves pardons. Forgiveness as a minister had different consequences then forgiveness as a governor or president.

  • Amanda Butt

    11/30/2009 08:55 AM

    I respect Gov. Huckabee because he is a man with a heart...a man with compassion for people. He relates to people. He knows that ALL PEOPLE ARE SINNERS, and that those that show a change of heart deserve another chance! Jesus teaches that! Jesus gave ALL SINNERS a chance to repent and to obey His gospel...no matter what our sins have been. Jesus IS the perfect example and role model of pardoning us if we show a change of heart by obeying Him. Gov. Huckabee, I believe, was only following Jesus' example by pardoning those that seemed to deserve a second chance. Although Jesus/God can read hearts, and Gov. Huckabee cannot (only via actions), Jesus does not control the heart of the individuals that choose to follow him. He gives us free will. Even after someone has obeyed Jesus' gospel, they can still fall from grace by doing acts such as this man did and not repenting of the sins committed.

    So, when people condemn Gov. Huckabee for pardoning someone he felt deserved a second chance, they need to examine themselves and stop judging. At least Gov. Huckabee had a compassionate heart ... a lot like Jesus did when he chose to die for ALL MANKIND!

  • Tupper, John

    11/30/2009 08:34 AM

    Hi Mike,

    Thank you for your sentiments. I'm a huge fan of yours. I would have voted for you in 2008 if we had been given a chance, and I will vote for you in 2012 if you run for POTUS.

    With that said, I believe you need to respond to the questioning of your decison to offer clemency to this now alleged cop killer. Perhaps there were good reasons to do what you chose to do, but the public deserves to learn why you made that decision. ... See More

    All too often politicians and judges make decisions to not hold people fully accountable for their choices/behavior, and usually for the wrong reasons.

    So Mike, will you share with us? You owe it to this community.

    Respectfully,

    John Tupper

  • Phillips, Charlie

    11/30/2009 08:30 AM

    Huck,
    All PR aside, I know this is weighing heavily on you, and the press will twist and spin it in whatever direction best advances their agenda.

    Please know that we continue to lift you up in our prayers. As Christians, we believe that forgiveness must be unconditional and none of us are without mistakes and regrets in our lives that we wish we could undo.

    Let the blame fall where it belongs and continue to lift up in prayer the families of the victims left in the wake of this murderous crime spree. May God give His peace and comfort to them at this time.

  • gracepraying

    11/30/2009 08:12 AM

    This is a time to be praying. First of all we need to pray for the families of the four fallen policemen. How they must be suffering now because of one bitter, messed-up man whose heart reasoned killing was some kind of cure for his anger!

    Please pray for the soul of this lost man who could kill. His destiny is horrible now, no matter what happens.

    Please pray for our media to be fair to Governor Huckabee and not charge him for culpability for crimes he had no way of knowing could occur. Also, pray that there will be a full accounting along the way of areas in which law enforcement has failed. And pray that these failures can be prevented in the future. Where there are humans in charge, there will be mistakes, but we do not want to minimize them.

    And finally, I would ask for prayer for a very good man, Governor Mike Huckabee, who made what he thought was the best decision in both commuting some sentences and signing some executution orders for prisoners to be in Arkansas. Few of us are faced with decisions of such magnitude. We humans judge imperfectly, with limited foreknowledge that only God truly has.

    Governor Huckabee, Janet, and family, we are sorry for this difficult time in your life and will uphold you with prayer to "Do the Right Thing" and say the right thing. I know when the full truth has come out, and we know if Clemmens is the killer or not, you will express your heart of sorrow more fully. We witnessed your tears and how sorry you were when your daughter's friend (the TV reporter in Arkansas) was raped and murdered. We know the Lord will help give you the right words, now.

    It seems that true leaders must be brought through great trials to become even greater. I continue to ask God to make you a great leader, but I am sorry if it means such trials as these. Therefore, I am even more committed to pray for you and ask God to open people's eyes to the good things you have done and help them to realize how you strive not to do wrongly, every day.

    May God bless and help you and us, who support and believe in you.

    GRACE, in Kansas, PRAYING

  • Cooper, Mark

    11/30/2009 07:44 AM

    Yes, Mike pardoned him back in the day. Does that make it his fault? Not in my eyes. A man murdered police officers. Let's blame Huck. No, let's blame lack of gun control. You could blame many things (even the people who worked with this man and claimed he had changed). I know Mike doesn't pardon anyone without looking at all the facts, as well as ... Seguir leyendo... ... Seguir leyendo...the expertise of those who work with the criminals and think they've changed enough. Mike believes in redemption... in second chances. So do I. Unfortunately, we have no control over what people do with their second chances. I guess Mike could have pulled a Mitt Romney and never have issued a single pardon as governor. I call that irresponsible and acting out of self-interest. Many people deserve second chances. Some don't. Based on the crimes he had committed when Mike pardoned him, perhaps this man did deserve a second chance. He obviously doesn't at this point. Let's keep in mind that Huck had to approve death penalties, as well. I bet you Mike would approve it on this man if he were in a position to. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of these heroic officers. May justice be done...

  • Shedlock, David

    11/30/2009 07:39 AM

    Assuming the worst for the moment (that it is the same perp!)

    First, I don't think Governor is responsible unless he should have known the guy was a loose cannon.

    Second, it is very disappointing that the statement released has not a single first person pronoun in it.

    When the statement says in the passive voice "he was recommended for clemency" it should have read "I recommended him for clemency".

  • Franks, Amanda

    11/30/2009 06:44 AM

    I was shocked to see your name attached to this crime...had you known anything like this would have happened, LORD knows you wouldn't have had him released. All the blame doesn't lie at your feet. I pray for the families of all parties involved, including yours that comfort and forgiveness through the pain is found.

  • Angelopoulos, Sarah

    11/30/2009 05:41 AM

    Michelle Malkin is reporting that Gov. Huckabee gave this guy clemency...is that true? I truly hope not...

  • Murephy, John

    11/30/2009 05:03 AM

    Man has his "failures"! God has a place called Hell, it will be a just punishment for those that "murder" and do not truly repent.

  • Hines, Matthew

    11/30/2009 01:50 AM

    I live two hours from where this happened, but I can tell you the region is reeling from this despicable act. An attack on our law enforcement officials is an attack on our social order. Our community is coming together to support and pray for our police officers and to support the grieving families.

    I am relieved to read Gov. Huckabee's statement on the person of interest in this slaying. Our papers are reporting as if it was Gov. Huckabee's decision, and his alone, which set the man free. I know that should he decide to run for president again, this will come up as did the Wayne DuMond case. And it will be spun the wrong way by the opposition.

  • Riser, Troy

    11/30/2009 01:28 AM

    As a Christian, I believe in redemption, too. I believe change in the human heart is possible, especially given the circumstances of my own spiritual awakening. Thus, I understand and sympathize with the rationale behind Clemmons' commutation. However, commutation of his sentence was clearly, obviously a terrible mistake. There's precious little political courage on display nowadays. Own this, Governor. Step up and take responsibility forthrightly and plainly.

  • Ho, Clark

    11/30/2009 01:11 AM

    Please exhibit due pennance by never running for public office ever again.

  • Goodman, Paul

    11/30/2009 12:41 AM

    God bless the families of the fallen.