Huckabee Distances Self From Parole Case

As Arkansas Governor, GOP Hopeful Favored Release Of Man Who Went On To Kill

(AP)  Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee distanced himself Tuesday from the case of an Arkansas man who killed a woman after being paroled for rape when Huckabee was the state's governor.

Huckabee had once spoken in favor of releasing the man but told reporters the decision to do so was made by parole board members appointed by his Democratic predecessors, Jim Guy Tucker and Bill Clinton.

Huckabee said he could not remember all the details of a meeting he had with parole board members during which the case of Wayne DuMond came up. But he asserted, "I didn't try to, you know, push anybody's buttons on it."

Two months after taking office in Little Rock, Huckabee announced he favored DuMond's early release because he doubted the inmate's guilt and because DuMond had been castrated while awaiting his rape trial. DuMond said masked men attacked him at his home, but no one was ever charged.

DuMond initially was sentenced to life plus 20 years for his conviction in the 1984 rape of a teenager, but Tucker reduced the sentence to 39½ years, making DuMond eligible for parole.

Huckabee later denied clemency on the same day the state parole board, reversing its earlier decision, granted DuMond parole.

DuMond was released to Missouri in 1999 where he was charged in the murder of a Kansas City-area woman. He died of cancer in prison in 2005.

"The truth is that my only action in this case was that I denied a commutation," Huckabee said.

Huckabee acknowledged Tuesday that he initially favored DuMond's release but said he changed his mind when he realized commuting the sentence would mean the man would be under no parole supervision.

Huckabee dismissed any suggestion that he was able to twist the arms of the parole board.

"If I'm that persuasive that I can walk in, a new Republican governor, and persuade Clinton and Tucker appointees to do something that they didn't want to do - folks, I deserve to be president," he said.

Huckabee brought up the case in a gathering with reporters on the subject of his presidential campaign. Though not in the top tier of Republican candidates nationally, he has shown strength in leadoff Iowa.

He also said his fundraising has been improving.

Huckabee's Web site says he has raised more than $987,000 in online donations this month. He said he recently raised more money in a six-day period than he did the first three months of his campaign.

As of Sept. 30, Huckabee had raised $2.3 million and had $650,000 cash on hand. By comparison, Rudy Giuliani had $16.6 million cash on hand, Mitt Romney $9.2 million and Fred Thompson $7.1 million.

Huckabee has seen an increase in popularity among Iowa Republicans; he's now tied in second place with Rudy Giuliani at 13 percent, according to a University of Iowa Hawkeye poll out Monday. The poll had Romney leading with 36 percent.

"We feel like that a lot of things have turned," Huckabee said.

[prinzowhales]

Much of nothing...it disregards the real issue which is the same as it was with the young black collegians in New Jersey who were murdered by illegals and criminals with dozens of convictions....Like the family in New England who were murdered by men with over 30 marks on their record each...

I would wager that nothing was done about the system in Connecticutt...nothing done in New Jersey...and nothing will be done in Arkansas...

Keep voting for the status quo...the court house gang...the prison industry...and the government protected drug dealers and mass murderers who attack America in false-flag operations...Keep voting for them and their friends...the ones who won''t investigate these obvious crimes.

[kansas1946]

You know, other than his anti-choice stance, I sort of like Ron Paul. But his nutty followers are over doing it on the web and turning everyone off. It doesn''t matter if the article is about pruning flowers or launching missles, there is some huge, tiresome, rave about Ron Paul. Tone it down guys, you are turning us off.

[usaprophet]

Ron Paul represents a different Republican Party from the one that Iraq, deficits and corruption have soured the country on. It''s ironic that other GOP candidates are scared to death of his message, BECAUSE his is more conservative than theirs. Being anti-war IS conservative. Another key difference between his message and the others is that he is a strong defender in The Constitution, which protects our civil liberties. The other Republican cadidates, who are mostly NWO Oligarchs, want to control your liberties. They''ve tried hard to exlude him from the spotlight, along with the right-wing press. In late June, despite a life of antitax agitation and pious churchgoing, he was excluded from a Republican forum sponsored by Iowa antitax and Christian groups. Ron Paul does not represent your Father''s style of Republicanism. He represents your Founding Father''s ideals. He stands for a certain idea of the Constitution; the idea that much of the power asserted by modern presidents has been usurped from Congress, and that much of the power asserted by Congress has been usurped from the states. Though Dr. Paul acknowledges flaws in both the Constitution (it included slavery) and the Bill of Rights (it doesn%u2019t go far enough), he still thinks a comprehensive array of positions can be drawn therefrom: against gun control; for the sovereignty of states; and against foreign-policy adventures. His message draws on the noblest traditions of American decency and patriotism.

[kansas1946]

Huckabee said he could not remember all the details of a meeting he had with parole board members during which the case of Wayne DuMond came up. But he asserted, "I didn''t try to, you know, push anybody''s buttons on it."
**********************
I think Mike Dukakis had the same problem, and "not remembering" didn''t help him too much either. Give it up Mike. You are not going to be president.

[usaprophet]

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."
- Gandhi

There is simply no other politician like Ron Paul. He understands the ills of our nation and how to cure them. The Doctor is in!

[usaprophet]

You get the sense that the country is desperate for someone to show us the way. Not the old way. Not the same way, but a NEW WAY. Think about this for a minute. What if we pulled all of our troops out of South Korea? They''ve been there for 50 years. Tens of thousands of them. What if we quit worrying about Iran, but instead, realized that its having a nuclear weapon will not mean the end of the world? What if we pulled all of our troops out of Iraq, and brought them all home? What if we realistically addressed the National Debt, and paid attention to REALLY DOING SOMETHING about stopping illegal immigration? These are the ideas Republican Presidential candidate, Dr. Ron Paul. He''s a ten term Congressman and a physician who has delivered over 4,000 babies. Ron Paul has been married to the same woman for more than 50 years, which means he doesn''t come to the race with the sort of baggage some of the other candidates for the White House do. Paul is given to mulling things over morally. He was once a pious Lutheran, but now attends a Baptist church. He never travels alone with women, and once even dressed-down an aide for using the expression "red-light district" in front of a female colleague. I support the 2008 candidacy of Congressman, Ron Paul for President of The United States. Candidates with the high level of personal integrity and track record of adherance to The Constitution Ron Paul always demonstrates only come around once in a lifetime, if we''re lucky. Go Ron!

[poopbreath]

Huck''s got egg on his face!!! Naughty, naughty for the self-righteous preacher man.