12 of Barbour’s pardons won’t be challenged

12 of Barbour’s pardons won’t be challenged

Twelve ex-convicts who committed mostly non-violent crimes in 11 Mississippi counties no longer need to worry whether their pardons from former Republican Gov. Haley Barbour will stand.

“I feel like a weight’s been lifted,” said Barry Sanderson Jr., who served more than three years on probation for kidnapping in the late 1990s. He received a full pardon a week ago today. “I’m real grateful to Gov. Barbour.”

In a review of 181 files from the governor’s office, Attorney General Jim Hood found that 12 included evidence the applicants had met the constitutional requirement for requesting a pardon.

Clarion Ledger
1/17/12