Murders Around Mississippi

Pardon Unlikely for Civil Rights Advocate - New York Times: "Last month, Mr. Kennard's supporters asked Governor Barbour, a Republican, for a pardon. The state parole board must first make a recommendation, but Mr. Barbour has already said he will not consider granting one.
'The governor hasn't pardoned anyone, be it alive or deceased,' said Mr. Barbour's spokesman, Pete Smith. 'The governor isn't going to issue a pardon here.'
Mr. Smith added that a pardon would be an empty gesture.
'The governor believes that Clyde Kennard was wronged, and if he were alive today his rights would be restored,' Mr. Smith said. 'There's nothing the governor can do for Clyde Kennard right now.'
Mr. Kennard's case, which was the subject of a recent three-month investigation by The Clarion-Ledger of Jackson, Miss., has also been pursued by students at Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Ill., and the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University's law school, in Chicago. Several of the students involved said they were baffled by Mr. Barbour's response.
'Please,' said Mona Ghadiri, 17, a senior at Stevenson High, addressing Governor Barbour, 'if you are going to say no, at least give us a decent reason.'"