Haley Barbour a Prick

Haley Barbour has refused to give a pardon to a wrongfully convicted black Korean War veteran. In 1960 Cylde Kennard was convicted of buying a stolen buy of chicken feed for $25. Kennard was sentenced to seven years in prison and died in 1963. Somewhere along the way the only witness to the crime recanted his statement. However, Barbour has put out a statement saying that he will not issue a pardon to anyone whether they are living or dead. It is believe Kennard's conviction retaliation for Kennard trying to get admission to a Mississippi university.

He'd be a successor in the Bush mold.

:hi:

I'd like to think he has absolutely no chance, but who knows?
:shrug:

I lived in Mississippi back in the late 80s/early 90s. The racism thing still existed but they had actually made a lot of progress. At Mississippi State University (in 1994 or so), the first black fraternity house opened, and was promptly destroyed by arson. But the white sororities and fraternities immediately collected enough money to rebuilt the black house. I was very impressed by that. They were trying hard to attract modern industries (semiconductor manufacturers such as Cypress); they ran ads saying "Meet Mississippi's Good Ole Boys," showing high technology people, making light of their old reputation.

So when I see stories like this one about Barbour, it is very disappointing to me. His predecessor Kirk Fordice (if I remember the name correctly) was also allegedly rather racist. I was told by colleagues at MSU that at a trustees meeting, the governor asked when they were going to close one of the "n***** schools." (Mississippi was still involved in the 20-year-long Ayers case, that established that Mississippi was running two separate and unequal systems of higher education. By the way, Mississippi State had 13% black student body at the time.)

Apparently, when he applied to the university, public officials discussed either setting him up or killing him (the records still exist, it seems). It was in yesterday's New York Times.

What a terrible thing to happen to anyone, and the article I read also mentioned that Kennard was considered brilliant. It shames me to know that the people who did this to him are Americans.

for the rest of his life and see how he likes it.

The description of what happened and Barbour's response to it almost leaves me speechless. The fellow is DEAD, for crying out loud, and was sentenced to prison for seven years over $25.

This ungodly, phoney-fake macho law-and-order stance strips Haley Barbour bare as the empty, shallow, heartless, merciless hypocrite he is.

That this is what the GOP offers speaks volumes.

On edit: Please read the stories concerning this, to gain special perspective on the case. It is truly sick-making.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/04/us/04pardon.html?ex=1304395200&en=71a3e5fcbc8a838a&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

"Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi acknowledges that Clyde Kennard suffered a grievous wrong at the hands of state officials more than 45 years ago. But he says he will not grant a posthumous pardon to Mr. Kennard, a black man who was falsely imprisoned after trying to desegregate a Mississippi college."

(SNIP)

"But because that college, Mississippi Southern, was reserved for whites, state officials not only rejected Mr. Kennard's repeated applications but also plotted to kill him.

"They kept him out of college by convicting him of helping to steal $25 of chicken feed based on what the sole witness now says was perjury. The 1960 conviction drew a seven-year prison term, and Mr. Kennard died of cancer in 1963."

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060319/NEWS/603190383/1002/NEWS01

http://www.law.northwestern.edu/news/article_full.cfm?eventid=2549

Contact information for Barbour:

http://www.governorbarbour.com/contact/