Huckabee blames system, not himself, for cop killer

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Citadel Media radio host and Fox News Channel weekender Mike Huckabee is distancing himself from responsibility for freeing the man now being sought for killing four police officers in Washington State. Huckabee, who commuted the 95-year sentence of Maurice Clemmons in 2000 when he was Governor of Arkansas, says the tragedy is the result of failures by the criminal justice systems in both states.


“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 Washington State. The murder of any individual is 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, making him parole eligible and was 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,” Huckabee said in a statement on his website.

RBR-TVBR observation: It looks like a Willie Horton moment for Mike Huckabee. And Mike, if you don’t remember Willie, just give Mike Dukakis a call.