Huckabee, Wayne Dumond and the Parole Board
Found an interesting in-depth piece on the Wayne Dumond case. Mr. Huckabee, when asked about the case, points out that the parole board in question was appointed by previous Arkansas governors. According to this article, Huckabee had, in fact reappointed one of the board members, Railey Steele, prior to the Dumond vote.
The timeline is interesting: On August 29, 1996, the board denied the parole of Dumond by a 4-1 vote. On September 10, 1996, the board voted 5-0 against recommending clemency and executice pardon. Ten days later Huckabee announced his intention to commute Dumond's sentence at which point public outcry ensued. On October 31, 1996, there was an "executive" (closed door) meeting between Huckabee and the parole board (no recordings or transcripts exist of this meeting). In January, 1997, the board voted 4-1 for Dumond's release.
One has to ask, why was there such a turn around in the board's opinion? Could it have been as a result of the "executive" (closed door) meeting? Could jobs have been at stake? Parole "board jobs are known to some degree [to be] political patronage, and they’re not the most difficult jobs for the pay” ($70,000+ per year). “And then there’s the most obvious: If the governor likes you, you might get to keep your job.”
Read the whole article and decide for yourself, does Mr. Huckabee have the blood of that young lady (her name is Carol Ann Shields, Mike) on his hands?
