Huckabee: Clemmons backlash could deter pardons

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said Monday he's worried that the backlash he's received from commuting the sentence of a man who later gunned down four police officers will deter other governors from granting clemency.

Huckabee, who pardoned or commuted the sentences of 1,033 people during his 10 1/2 years in office, defended his use of executive clemency and his role in the release of Maurice Clemmons. Seattle police killed Clemmons days after he shot four Lakewood, Wash., police officers dead inside a coffee shop Nov. 29.

"What I fear is the hubbub of this case will make it so that not only in Arkansas, but in states across this country, these files won't even get looked at," Huckabee said at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service. "When people say how can you sleep at night, I say I sleep better knowing that I at least honestly did my job and looked at every case and I gave it consideration and I denied a lot more than I approved."

As governor, Huckabee in 2000 commuted Clemmons' 108-year sentence for robbery and several other crimes and made him eligible for parole. The state Parole Board released Clemmons later that year.

Huckabee has faced criticism over his decision to commute Clemmons, including from other potential rivals for the 2012 presidential nomination. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin called the decision horrible in a recent radio interview, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has said he wouldn't have commuted Clemmons' sentence.

Huckabee has said he commuted Clemmons because the length of his sentence and because a state judge had written the parole board in favor of making him parole eligible. Huckabee has also said there were no objections from local prosecutors, but prosecutors said they have no record they were ever given notification of Huckabee's intent.

Huckabee, a Southern Baptist preacher, denied that Clemmons' faith played a role in the decision to grant him clemency. In his application for clemency, Clemmons wrote that he prayed Huckabee would show him compassion and referred to the "angel of death" taking away his mother.

"One of the things I find so sometimes frustrating is people make assumptions and they jump to conclusions that if a person had faith, that made them more likely to have some type of consideration from me," Huckabee told reporters. "Quite frankly, it tended to make them less likely because I'm not too much of a believer in jailhouse and foxhole religion just because a person claims to have had a conversion."

Huckabee said he's not worried about the political consequences of his decision should he seek the GOP presidential nomination again. Huckabee faced criticism from his rivals over his clemencies when he ran for president last year.

"If people want to use that politically, they will and if it's not that, it'll be something else," Huckabee said. "Politics is a brutal game and if you go into it, you clearly understand that everything is out there."

During his talk at the school, Huckabee said he hasn't ruled out another run for president. Huckabee, who hosts a talk show on Fox News Channel, has said in a previous interview that another run was less than likely.

Huckabee said his decision would partly depend on how Republicans fare in next year's midterm elections.

"Before I would be able to say, yep, I'm thinking about doing it again, I've told some people that if I jump back in that pool, I want to make sure there's some water in there," Huckabee said.

Huckabee was at the school to talk about and sign copies of his book, "A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories that Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit." Huckabee called the book, which focuses on Christmas memories that he says have taught him valuable lessons about the holiday, his personal favorite among the seven he's written.