JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Mississippi Supreme Court has denied Attorney General Jim Hood's motion to reconsider a ruling that validated former Gov. Haley Barbour's pardons.
The court ruled Thursday without comment on Hood's motion to reconsider a March 8 decision.
Barbour pardoned nearly 200 people as his second term was ending earlier this year. The total included four convicted murderers and a robber who worked as inmate trusties at the Governor's Mansion.
Hood claimed some of recipients didn't meet a constitutional mandate to publish notices for 30 days in a newspaper.
"It is a shame that former Governor Barbour abused the pardon power" Hood said Thursday in a statement. "It is even more of a travesty that a majority of the present Mississippi Supreme Court chose not to enforce the clear language in our State Constitution. The people will have to enforce the law by going through the initiative process to amend our Constitution to prevent this abuse of the pardon power and this travesty of justice from ever happening again. I pray no person becomes a victim of any of these pardoned criminals."
The court ruled 6-3 in Barbour's favor in March, saying it was up to the governor "alone to decide whether the Constitution's publication requirement was met."
Hood asked the court to reconsider, which led to Thursday's ruling.
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