Burt-

Think the odds makers in Vegas will make book on the Obastard's pardon list?

Put me down $10.00 on the shoe bomber.

Burt,

In our twenty-first century society we seem to have forgotten a lot about how forgiveness works. Jesus Christ doesn't promise forgiveness as a sweeping gesture - there is a process involved. Confession of the sin, repentance of the sinful ways, and to humbly ASK for forgiveness. And, of course, it's Jesus - you can't just pretend. Under those conditions He promises forgiveness, but nowhere in there does he offer release from the societal consequences of our sin. That falls under the "render unto Caesar what is due Caesar" clause. You still have to repay that debt. Unless, of course, Haley Barbour thinks it would make him look good to roll the dice on your repentance and free you to victimize his constituents some more. How did this ridiculous practice start, anyway? Did thieves, rapists, and murderers suddenly become a significant voting bloc while I wasn't paying attention?

If it seems like a good idea to release convicted violent criminals into society to show your own "compassion", you obviously lack the decision-making skills to be governing the rest of us. Maybe that's why they always wait until the last day.

Burt wrote: "I say the next time some political hack feels called upon to do a good deed, let him donate a kidney."

Or resign from office.

Bottom line, rehabilitation does NOT work when it comes to violent criminals. It may be effective for petty crimes like getting caught with a joint or open container, but when it comes to murder, rape, drug dealing, grand theft, you're just pissing in the wind.

Norge: Of course that's why they wait. If these guys had any guts, they would do their pardoning soon after getting elected, thus giving the voters the opportunity to hold a recall election at the earliest opportunity.

mmc: No bet.

Burt

Seems to me that somewhere in the Bible there is a passage that says something about And Eye for An Eye, and A Tooth For A Tooth. This may not be an exact quote, but it conveys the thought. The goody two shoes who insist on granting clemency to murderous slugs need to go back and do a little actual Biblical study.

Richard Ryan

Lamar,Missouri - Birthplace of Harry S Truman

An Eye for an Eye, a Tooth for a Tooth actually comes from the Code of Hammurabi, an ancient Mesopotamian code of law (Sumerian, I believe). It continues on listing the consequences for many actions and crimes, including things such as the death penalty for a builder whose building collapses killing an occupant. It is based on revenge, with the act of revenge being substantially equal to the act or crime which precipitates the revenge. I am not sure how much of it made it into the Bible, or exactly where it is.

I have never heard of an executed murder killing again. But I could be mistaken. Don't forget kommandant klinton pardoned Dan Rostenkowski who was a crooked politician (a redundancy). I believe any murder or rapist that was pardoned should be turned over to the victims family prior to his release.

Haley Barbour is no hack. His pardons were not for politics or profit, like Clinton and other Democrats. The cases of pardons gone wrong have no similarity to Barbour's. Hack? Be careful.

Burt, you make me wonder who will pardon the 535 Congressional Cowards that continue to acquiesce to Obama's demonstrably treasonous activities. And who will pardon Obama when truth becomes known that not only is his identity fraudulent but that he has swindled the American taxpayers out of trillions, making Bernie Madoff and Allen Sandford look like pickpockets just borrowing a little change.?

It will not be God. Perhaps as he ascends to his destiny as Mohammed II, propagator of all things Muslim, he can pardon himself. As a proponent of consistent racism, I think he’ll look more like a real black man after burning in hell for a few days.

Jesus said to Peter "Upon this Rock I will build my church( refering to Simon,now named Petros or Rock)...Whoever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whoever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Peter was given this authority as the first Pope & that authority is passed down to succeeding Popes. The current Pope pardoning someone is acting with the guidence of the Holy Spirit and should not be lumped by you with the acts of politicians!

TJS,

What? His murderers were nicer than everybody elses?

Norge: Thanks. PJS may think that Barbour is not a political hack, and perhaps he's right because Barbour didn't issue the pardons for political advantage. Instead, let us agree that he is a self-righteous, irresponsible, holier-than-thou s.o.b.

Dr. J.P.: I didn't say the Pope had pardoned Mease. He didn't have the authority to do so. He used his office to force the governor of Missouri to commute his sentence. But because he didn't then take charge of Mr. Mease, leaving to up to the people of Missouri to feed, house and clothe, the murderer for as long as he lived, he misused his moral authority...and I would say the same even if I were a Catholic.

Mr. Dembski: You call it revenge, I call it justice. I suspect the murder victim would side with me.

Burt

I think one can be a Christian and still expect the guilty to pay the civil penalty for their deed. Forgiveness is certainly possible, but erring on the side of caution may mean that the violent offender remains behind bars. Perhaps repentance and a reordering of one's life can be rewarded by seconds in the chow line or lighter duty.

Burt & Dr. J.P.,

Burt is correct and Dr. J.P., you make a mistake that loads of Catholics and non-Catholics make about the pope's infallability. He is infallible only in matters of faith and morals, in what he says Catholics must believe as doctrine, binding on them, not the rest of the world. The last time a pope did that was in the early 1950s; it would be along the lines of the doctrine of the Assumption of Mary or that she is the Immaculate Conception. Not too many popes in history have done this, compared to the total number to date.

We have a system called justice. This process informs the accused of the nature of their crime, provides for legal representation in trial, and complies with the judge or jury's determination of guilt and penalty. For any politician to believe that he is competent to intercede in this process is the height of arrogance. I can see pardoning a person when it becomes damn clear they were not the perpetrator, such as recent DNA discoveries. Otherwise, my best suggestion is to ask if the victim, or victim's family, if they want the prisoner released. Scum like Bill Clinton perverted the privilege of pardon beyond any reasonable limit. Pardons must be rare, and reserved for those who were wrongly convicted. Yes, people are wrongly convicted, but we should not turn pardons into a free pass for bad guys who probably should be spitted and roasted over an open fire. Mark my words, you do not release a rattlesnake in you own house. They have a reputation for biting.

Jim: I think only God is qualified to judge if repentance is sincere or whether the con is just trying to game the system. In the case of a murderer, the fact that he remains alive while his victim or victims are not is a sign that he has literally gotten away with murder.

QJG & Bo: I'm glad we agree on this important issue.

Burt

Evening Burt,

Yes, I am a Mississippian and have experienced derogatory reactions since I, well, since I was aware of the redneck, lynching, southern bigot reputation we have. Barbour is a politician. He is no fool, however. The board at Parchman suggested these pardons, he did not just go down some list and pick the names at random. Obviously this is a procedure that happens all over the country. I don't think Barbour would ever believe he was in the Jesus business of eternal forgiveness.

On another note, thank you for your columns. I am a big fan and look forward to them.

The death penalty, properly applied, would eliminate the possibility of the misguided self righteous piety of retiring politicians. It also would guarantee the safety of the public. Jefferson had it right.."the next day save one(Sunday)" for the execution of Ist degree murderers. He also wanted to execute for treason, but that is a discussion for another day.

All you people must have jobs or something because you clearly missed the morning TV interview with Barbour in which he explained that of the 140 pardons, all but about 30 had already completed their sentences and were free men, but with a felony conviction tainting their background and limiting their chances and privileges in life. There would have been a far fewer number if it hadn't been for Hurricane Katrina which messed up their whole system with all the flooding and resulted in a growing backlog of cases for consideration.

As for murders, he explained that they were convicted of murders like manslaughter, crimes of passion/outbursts of anger. The statistical odds that such men will ever hurt anyone again are no greater than for the general population. That's why they posed no threat to anyone including his family, which inter-mixed with them as they maintained the governor's mansion and grounds.

Things aren't always what they seem at first glance but good old common sense presumptions lead up to jump to conclusions without the benefit of knowing the real situation.

A.R. - I am retired, but don't watch TV as I have more important things to do. That morning when Barbour was on I was probably rearranging my sock draw or maybe going for a walk or playing with the lab.

Would that these slime ball politicians showed the same solicitude toward the victims of these criminals.

A.R. Nash: Actually, I saw the Barbour interview. I wrote the piece subsequently. Just because these murderers weren't crazy enough to kill the governor or his relatives doesn't mean a whole lot to me. It's like freeing child molesters just because they didn't rape any children while in prison, ignoring the fact that there were no potential victims handy. Besides, if it was the right thing to do, as Gov. Barbour insists, why didn't he pardon them a year or two earlier, while he was still in office?

Carolyn: As you may have guessed, I don't really care where Barbour got the names. I am against pardoning prisoners. It is difficult enough to capture and prosecute these criminals. The whole notion of letting anyone out of prison before he's served his full term is a betrayal of the process.

Burt

Burt: I cannot understand judges who give any leniency at all to known, convicted child molesters. Most of us (I think including the convicts) believe that these worms are incapable of "rehabilitation."

When I hear of these round-tables where the convicted prisoners sit around and talk about what bad people they are, I can just imagine all of them taking notes on how best to perpetrate the next crime once they're out on the street for "good behavior."

These people should never be let out of a cage. Never. Period.

Burt: As to your great column on the subject of all these prisoners suddenly turned loose on society, I couldn't possibly agree more.

Jeannette: I'm glad we see eye to eye on this issue.

Frankly, I would make sex crimes against children a capital offense. Everyone in the legal system is aware that the highest rate of recidivism is to be found among these freaks, but the length of sentences would make you think that a lot of judges regard them as minor league felons.

Burt

Once a criminal reaches prison he/she has been through the court of justice, so there are no innocents in jail. The intended purpose of incarceration is (1) to punish a criminal for failure to abide by the laws of society, (2) to keep that criminal away from his past and future victims, and (3) provide a deterrent to others who think they can commit a crime and get away with it. If a government frees a criminal it accomplishes none of the above.

Burt: Just a note about the judge sometime back who had refused to put a child rapist in the general population because he was "too short"; she thought it was probably not safe for him. Poor baby.

I had wondered how tall his victim was. She was a young girl possibly 11 or 12 years old.

A capital offense, and its concomitant punishment, would have been perfect in this case. Just perfect.

Jeannette: Perfect for the child rapist as well as the judge.

Burt

Burt: You got it.

Honest Abe: You're exactly right. What's more, it encourages people to agree that the Law is an ass.

Burt