Huckabee defends parole for rapist
By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee -- under increasing scrutiny since his meteoric rise in the polls in Iowa -- today delivered a lengthy defense of his controversial role in advocating the early parole for a convicted rapist who murdered a woman after he was released.
Huckabee insisted he had not pressured the Arkansas Parole Board to grant early release to Dumond, who had been sentenced to life plus 20 years for the 1984 kidnapping and rape of a 17-year-old high school girl.
The then-governor did meet with the parole board -- whose members he noted had all been appointed by Democratic governors -- but told reporters today that the Dumond case was part of a "broader discussion. I did not ask them to do anything.''
Huckabee did earlier indicate sympathy for Dumond, whom he said yesterday had "an unblemished prison record'' and had met "all of the qualifications for being paroled.'' In an October interview with the Globe, Huckabee said Dumond's original sentence was unusually long for a person convicted of rape.
But critics -- including the prosecutor in the case and the victim of the 1984 rape -- say Huckabee wrongly went to bat for a man who should have been kept in prison. Dumond sexually assaulted and killed another woman after he was released from the Arkansas facility, and has since died in prison.
"I am deeply sorry, and I mean, awfully, just horrified [at] what happened,'' Huckabee told reporters. "And there is not a single person that will ever bring those women back to their families.''
The Dumond case haunted Huckabee in his re-election campaign for governor, and is being revisited now that Huckabee's support is surging for the Republican presidential nomination.
The Huffington Post, an online newspaper, escalated the matter Tuesday with the disclosure of several letters from women who said they had been raped or threatened with rape by Dumond. The women -- whose names are blacked out in the Huffington Post story -- asked then-Governor Huckabee to do what he could to keep Dumond behind bars.
Huckabee did not say today whether he had read the letters by the women cited in the Huffington Post story. But in 1996, he did speak in person to the victim of the 1984 rape, Ashley Stevens, who told the Globe in an October interview that Huckabee "seemed to have already made up his mind. He just thought that Dumond was innocent.''
Huckabee said he expected the matter to become an issue in the presidential race. "There will be people who are victims who will probably be brought forth to make statements, but you know, I can't fix it,'' Huckabee said. "I can only tell the truth and let the truth me my judge.''
The problem here is that huck-a-lie, Is saying that he did not have anything to do with the release of a convicted rapist who latter murdered.
This is a lie, This is a lie
So huckabee the minister and chief is going to be a liar and chief also.
Just so everyone understands,
Mike Huckabee is going around telling a lie.
Huckabee knows that he is behind the man being let out. But chooses to lie to the American public.
Stop supporting a liar. America we know one thing for sure and it is not that huckabee flip-flops but that he is a liar
Liar, liar pants on fighter
Mike Huckabee is a liar.
I have read the Huffingtonpost.com story and it is full of specific details that Gov. Huckabee must refute if he is to remove this serious cloud hanging over him. After reading the article one is left with the impression that Gov. Huckabee allowed his anti-Clinton bias to seriously cloud his judgment as Governor. We have to consider the fact the Gov. Huckabee wants to be President and that means he will have control of the United States nuclear arsenal. Given the serious allegations in the Huffingtonpost article we have the right to question whether or not Mike Huckabee is qualified to be in such a position of public importance. As for me, I’m scared. I hope the press does not drop the ball on this one. They need to follow up and either refute the allegations or confirm them.
Mike standing up for himself on this Dumond case doesn't make him a liar. He is the one candidate that makes every effort to be completely honest with the American people. I have great respect for Mike. He was only one of many people involved in this case. He had this case dumped on him when he came into office because the previous two governors avoided it like the plague. I am sure everyone involved feels great remorse over the events that followed his release. Try taking a look at these events from Mike Hucabee's perspective.
http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?FuseAction=TruthSquad.DumondRes
Mike Huckabee has been answering critics on this subject since the horrible rape/murder in Missouri. He was still elected Governor of highly-Democratic run Arkansas by big margin because the people there recognized Mr. Huckabee had no part in the actual parole. Only the parole board can decide to release a prisoner, not the Governor (even if there was persuation, but there was not). Also, articles like this one leave out the fact that then Democratic Governor Jim Guy Tucker commuted Dumond's sentence to 39 1/2 years making him eligible for parole in the first place.
This is a re-hashing of a very old story that has already been adequately answered by Mike Huckabee. Interesting this is 'major news' just when Huckabee jumps into the lead nationally instead of a few months ago when he was at 2-3%!
Here is the article that gives the details of Huckabee's role in the release of this rapist:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2007/12/04/documents-expose-huckabee_n_75362.html
Arkansas voted Mr. Huckabee Governor again because we realized Huckabee could not have been to blame. Only the parole board, not the Governor, can parole a prisoner. Democratic ex-governor Jim Guy Tucker made parole possible by commuting Dumond's sentence to 39 1/2 years, not Mr. Huckabee.
This is an extremely unfortunate event that happened and we can all truly be saddened by it, but to try and blame an innocent man with no control over the situation anyway is just wrong. Does anyone find it interesting that this story is 're-aired' just as Mr. Huckabee takes the lead nationally in the polls?
Mike Huckabee did not grant parole to the person in question, nor did he defend this person's being paroled as the title of the article seems to imply. Go to mikehuckabee.com to hear Mike's response.
remember, Huckabee is a minister, and a devout christian. he has a tendancy to forgive and forget. yes, of course what happened was horrible, and the families of the victims will never get full disclosure or true peace of mind. but what huckabee did wasn't that uncommon for a new governor, and that is to make a mistake in a time when they are inexperienced and use the only experience they have. for huckabee, this experience was forgivness. it failed him.
let me ask you all this. do you really believe that he would pardon him again. how many governors actually pardon criminals that commit crimes again. it's sad that the globe, or for that matter other papers aren't asking the same question. instead they are playing a game of gotcha with every prez candidate.
I find it difficult to believe that any but an extremely partisan person would believe the nonsense that Huckabee claims was the truth. This guy was convicted for killing a guy in Texas before the Arkansas murder. Other women came forth with stories of their own rapes. He let DuMond go because he wanted to blame the conviction on Clinton and now he's trying to blame the release on Democrats. It's time for the voters to cast their ballots for someone capable of being accountable and telling the truth. Huckabee is not that politician.
Since Huckabee received letters from other women that Dumond inflected his crimes on, then why would Huckabee even agree to release such a sick criminal? Politics is what huckabee is about and money. I'm from Arkansas and he is as crooked and any politiician. Just because he is a preacher is probably why 48% of the African American vote came from. Many people can be fooled. A Baptist preacher would never lie (sure) ... With all the scandals it is enough to make anyone sick. I trust Huckabee as much as Congressman Craig. You know how naughty Craig is (I am not gay). Personally in the Republican party i like Ron Paul and John McCain even though they differ but they seem honest. In the Democratric party my top three picks are Hillary, Obama and Biden...
Since Huckabee received letters from other women that Dumond inflected his crimes on, then why would Huckabee even agree to release such a sick criminal? Politics is what huckabee is about and money. I'm from Arkansas and he is as crooked and any politiician. Just because he is a preacher is probably why 48% of the African American vote came from. Many people can be fooled. A Baptist preacher would never lie (sure) ... With all the scandals it is enough to make anyone sick. I trust Huckabee as much as Congressman Craig. You know how naughty Craig is (I am not gay). Personally in the Republican party i like Ron Paul and John McCain even though they differ but they seem honest. In the Democratric party my top three picks are Hillary, Obama and Biden...
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