Raw Emotions Greet A Murderer's Release
Miss. Gov. Faces Rage, Heckling After Suspending Life Sentence of Convicted Stalker/Killer
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54-year-old Michael David Graham's life sentence for the 1989 murder of his ex-wife Adrienne Klasky was suspended by Miss. Governor Haley Barbour. (WKRG)
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Barbour's decision to let out the man convicted of the 1989 killing of Adrienne Klasky after serving 19 years of a life sentence has triggered rage among those who knew her and who remember the brutal crime.
Barbour earlier this month suspended the life sentence of Michael Graham, who had been working as a trusty in the Governor's Mansion. Much like a parole, Graham is restricted in where he can live and has to report to monthly meetings with corrections officials.
Graham, Klasky's ex-husband, was convicted of her murder. Witnesses said Graham stalked Klasky for three years before pulling up next to her at a Pascagoula intersection and shooting her in the head as she waited for a light to change.
Graham surrendered to authorities 15 minutes after pulling the trigger of the 12-gauge shotgun.
Dozens of Klasky's former classmates are sending the governor an oversized letter - a 12-foot poster signed by them - expressing their anger and dismay about his decision to let her killer out of prison.
"We wanted to express to the governor our outrage in what he has done in letting someone like this loose," Harvey Barton, who graduated from Pascagoula High School with Klasky in 1973, told WLOX-TV in Biloxi.
State Rep. Brandon Jones, D-Pascagoula, said he will deliver the poster to Barbour in August when lawmakers return to Jackson to restart a special session.
"Who knows what a 12-foot piece of butcher paper means, but we hope that it shows the raw emotion that was there. And the memory of what was by all accounts, a lovely person," Jones said.
Jones hopes to curtail a governor's right to pardon or suspend the sentence of anyone convicted of premeditated murder.
Barton said he has fond memories of Klasky.
"Adrienne was always so full of life, and always had a smile on her face, and so happy, that's the way everybody remembers her," he said.
Graham would have been eligible for parole July 12, 2010.
Barbour issued an "indefinite suspension of sentence," said Pete Smith, a spokesman for the governor. The suspension can be reversed.
The governor said last week that what he did for Graham was the equivalent of a parole and that Graham will report regularly to an officer.
Barbour said he's willing to pardon Graham if he gets a job and follows the rules during this "second chance" he's been given.
The governor said Graham was a diligent worker at the mansion. Barbour said he expects Graham "to have an unblemished record" outside prison.
The Jackson Free Press noted this week that Barbour has granted pardons to five other killers this year, at least two of whom were (like Graham) convicted of killing former or current girlfriends.
On Thursday at the Neshoba County Fair where Barbour was speaking, a woman started heckling the governor, simply chanting the name "Adrienne Klasky" over and over.
Linda St. Martin, a local Democratic leader, yelled the name repeatedly until she was escorted away.
In an interview with Gulfport, Miss.'s Sun-Herald Thursday night, St. Martin said, "I just had to do something.
"This woman can't speak for herself," St. Martin said. "Who will say the name of Adrienne Klasky? I made the decision today that I would.
"The question is not why did I do this. The question is why did the governor release the man. Not why did I do it, but how long will I do it alone?"
A former lawyer and lobbyist, Barbour served as the Republican National Committee Chairman from 1993 to 1997. He was elected Mississippi Governor in 2003 and re-elected last year.
How Barbour weathers this political firestorm is unclear. Because of term limits, he cannot run for Governor again when his current term expires in 2011.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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See all 92 CommentsWife beaters, abusive men, do NOT change. They just put on their mask and wait for the next victim to fall into their clutches. Any woman who''s lived in the home with an abuser needs to speak up and stop idiocy that sets men like this one free.
smart move--by a man who is obviously being blackmailed or extorted. By making the decision reversible, he still holds a sword over the killers head--so if the killer ever rats him out--back to prison he will go. The two are now extorting each other. The public better wonder just what the governor could have done, that would allow a con to put him in the position he is now in.
Really? Governors don''t get in paroles from what I understand.
Republican logic.
But wait the year isn''t over and Texas could reclaim it or maybe Alabama, or Georga, of course there could be a suprise and one of the Carolina''s could take it.
why? do you hope they would hurt each other? Does that seem like a right thing to do? The actions of a strong and courageous society? Or is it cowards giving in to the lowest of human impulses for revenge and countering brutality with more of the same?
think he is more of a scumbag than you? Think your mind is more right than his? Does not look like it...
Posted by jMcGilvray at 01:25 PM : Aug 02, 2008
Love it!!
Posted by lazareth at 12:39 PM : Aug 02, 2008
Good idea. They should televise what happens in the cell!!
jennmarikp: "Good idea. They should televise what happens in the cell!!"
You guys are going to have to do better than that to satisfy your lust for brutality. Most likely they would just sit there and stare or have a heart-to-heart conversation about how they were shocked at their own actions. boring.
Should not have worked in the Governor''s Mansion no matter what.
Totally not acceptable.
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Why don''t you two go find this guy and give him a big hug.I wonder how you would feel if this piece of $hit shot one of your loved ones in the head with a shotgun?You Puzzys make me sick.
We''ll call it: Survivor: USP Marion
And in it, we could have all the stars. It will satisfy the naysayers of Capital Punishment because the state wouldn''t be responsible for anyone getting hurt. It''ll be great for historians - a flashback to the Gladiator times, only they''d be "deserving" of death.
Wouldn''t it be great to see who gets voted out of USP Marion? No torches... just snuffs. It''d build team camaraderie, an esprit de corps. Multiple camera angles possible with bulletproof plexi-glass all around.
Ahhh... but what do I know? I''m a Canadian and we love everyone. I mean, look at that guy on the bus. He''ll plead insanity (curiously, would a sane person do that anyway?) and he''ll be released in 10 years, under supervision, with an order to take his meds.
Seriously? It''s time to get tough. Lock these losers up and throw away the key. I''d be happier paying taxes knowing they''re away and never getting out.
When they are Black, like Willie Horton, the Repugs use them as propaganda.
They better just hope this clown doesn''t kill anyone now that the right-wingers let him out. Or at least that he kills someone he is directed to by the White Wing power elite.
Posted by lazareth at 12:39 PM : Aug 02, 2008
Good idea. They should televise what happens in the cell!!
Posted by jennmarikp
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See CBS...that would be a REAL ''Survivor'' reality show. And certainly beat that piece of cr*p that now has that name on your network.
However that particular judge should be removed from the bench. Allowing himself to be jaded and allowing public opinion to influence his decisions shows that he is lacking in conviction. Something a judge can little afford to lose.
The reason he was let go is probably much more sinister than that.
He''s probably going to be used to get rid of political enemies of Barbour or something like that!
This ISN''T really surprising, though! Barbour allowed supplies meant for Katrina victims to be re-routed to state offices and agencies! Grab the wealth! Let the people rot!
Mississippians, you deserve what you get for electing a piece of shiit like Barbour! Maybe some day you''ll learn and elect somebody who''s not a crook!
This only proves what I have believed for a very long time; mainly that Haley Barbour is All Hat And No Cattle."
He is the typical Good Ol'' Boy, who is nothing more than an embarrassment to the Republican Party, (I am a Republican); and, this is not his first sign of impaired reasoning.
There are certain folks out there who will view this as a perversion of justice; and, they just might take matters into their own hands.
More than likely, Michael David Graham will have to keep looking over his shoulder everywhere he goes, and that would be for the rest of his life.
Posted by cwbyht at 04:32 PM : Aug 02, 2008
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Just because you can doesn''t always mean you should.
They let (helped) bin Laden get away, they (the heavily right leaning supreme court) ruled executions for child rapists are unconstitutional, they ruled that a girl kidnapped by her church CANNOT sue the church because it violates THEIR right to freedom of religion, and now they pardon grizzled murderers.
How can ANYONE say that the GOP DOES NOT hate America?
HaleyBarbour.INFO
Let him find his wife''s or child''s corpse on the bathroom floor, and then we''ll question him on his decision again to release murderers for no apparent reason.
I honestly do not believe this man will likely ever be s threat to his community.
HOORAY for this governor for demonstrating that even Republicans can show compassion.
If Graham stays away from the skirts so that his obsessions don''t start to overule reason, he won''t have any problems not unless some vigilante nutter decdes to overule the Mississippi Governor
However that particular judge should be removed from the bench. Allowing himself to be jaded and allowing public opinion to influence his decisions shows that he is lacking in conviction. Something a judge can little afford to lose.
Posted by darkfyreaol at 03:53 PM : Aug 02, 2008
What Judge? Did you mean GOVERNOR? Because it was a governor who suspended the sentence, not a judge--unless the governor is a judge. Is he? Is it in the above article? Or do your "shifting sands and stupidity have room for YOU on the roster?
The governor is being blackmailed by the con and has to release him or have some dirt about himself exposed. For his own protection, he has not pardoned the con--but keeps him on the hook by only suspending a sentence which could be lifted and reimposed at any time (like if the con tells on him in the future).
let your voice be heard
www.HaleyBarbour.INFO
I honestly do not believe this man will likely ever be s threat to his community.
HOORAY for this governor for demonstrating that even Republicans can show compassion."
It''s not about him being a threat or re-offending. It''s about justice. She was blindsided, her life taken away forever, no second chances - AND she did NOT get a choice in that.
He had a choice. He knew the consequences, ignored them and took someone''s life. He deserves to rot in Hell forever. Frankly, he needs to stay in a cell forever, with no chance of parole.
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