Cause And Huckeffect

Early this morning four Seattle-area police officers were shot and killed.  The suspect wanted in that killing is a man named Maurice Clemmons.  The shooting itself is unforgivable and of course my heart goes out to the families of these brave officers who were killed in the line of duty.

Maurice Clemmons was released from prison nine years ago, granted clemency for a 60-year sentence at age 18 for burglary and property theft.  He had served 18 of those 60 years.  The governor who granted that clemency?

Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.

"This is the day I've been dreading for a long time," Larry Jegley, prosecuting attorney for Arkansas' Pulaski County said tonight when informed that Clemmons was being sought for questioning in connection with the killings.
Clemmons' criminal history includes at least five felony convictions in Arkansas and at least eight felony charges in Washington. The record also stands out for the number of times he has been released from custody despite questions about the danger he posed.

Huckabee, who ran for the Republican presidential nomination last year, issued a statement tonight calling the slaying of the police officers "a horrible and tragic event."

If Clemmons is found responsible, "it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington State," Huckabee said.

He added that Clemmons' release from prison had been reviewed and approved by the Arkansas parole board.

Clemmons had been in jail in Pierce County for the past several months on a pending charge of second-degree rape of a child. He was released from custody just six days ago, even though was staring at seven additional felony charges in Washington state.

Now, clearly, Huckabee's not the guy to blame here, not totally.  But Clemons was released for serving a 35-year sentence before that, was released, committed another pair of armed robberies and went to jail for 10 more years.  He walked again a few years ago.  While Yggy and Scott Lemieux have a point that 60 years is a lot for a robbery where nobody was hurt, this guy did have a rap sheet as long as my arm and kept getting released after committing more crimes.  On the other hand, Maha has a point about the religious angles that have motivated former pastor Huckabee's other clemencies.

Needless to say, the Wingers have vehemently turned on Huckabee this morning.  Not that they particularly liked him to begin with.  The words "Dukakis" and "Willie Horton" keep getting thrown around, as do the words "Wayne Dumond".

Police have surrounded Clemmons's house as of 7:30 AM EST.

[UPDATE 8:05 AM]   Repors of gunfire and explosions at the Clemmons home.  Also, TBogg reminds us that those who aren't blaming Huckabee for this one are blaming those damn liberals (It's Seattle, after all.)