Many people become upset when prisoners who have committed violent crimes get released earlier than they should. According to the Boston Herald, “Michael Woodmansee, who was a neighbor of the Foreman family, killed Jason Foreman in South Kingstown in 1975 and hid the boy’s shellacked bones in his house for years. He confessed and was convicted of second-degree murder in 1983.”
Now, the boy’s father is very mad because Woodmansee might be released early from jail this summer. He feels that the man should have to serve every single day of his sentence because he murdered his son and will probably go out and do the exact same thing again.
There have been a few instances where prisoner releases have caused uproar in the United States. They are: Mike Huckabee pardoning a cop killer, a Yemeni snitch’s release from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, and California giving an early release to some prisoners who committed violent crimes.
Mike Huckabee Pardons Cop Killer
Mike Huckabee was the governor of Arkansas at the time when he pardoned a man named Maurice Clemmons. According to politicolnews.com, “Clemmons at the time of Huckabee’s pardon, had been given 95 years in prison which is where he should have been on Sunday November 29, 2009 when he shot in cold blood four police officers in Lakewood, Washington.”
Before his pardon for robbery, Clemmons had been in and out of jail for various criminal offenses that included burglary, arson, rape, theft and other offenses. Most people would never have given a pardon to such a person and many people were in an uproar when Clemmons killed an innocent police officer when he should have been behind bars.
Yemeni Snitch Is Released From Guantanamo Bay Prison
The war on terror is a very serious issue and many people are afraid of another 9/11 type of terrorist attack on U.S. soil. This made it very controversial when a prisoner from Guantanamo Bay named Yasim Muhammed Basardah was released from the prison. According to Washington Independent.com, “a Guantanamo Bay detainee who The Washington Post recently outed as a widely used but unreliable informant on his fellow prisoners won a court order for his release.”
The man in question was from Yemen and had snitched out other terrorists and was working as a witness for the United States when they would prosecute alleged terrorists. Other terrorists had also been released from the prison. They included Salim Hamdan and Ayman Saeed Batarfi. This has angered many people because the men could still be a threat to Americans and have been allowed to go back to their countries.
California Releases Some of Its Violent Offenders Early
The state of California is one that is considered liberal by most but its controversial move to release some of its violent offenders early raised eyebrows everywhere. According to presstelegram.com, “inmates convicted of violent crimes are among those being freed early from California jails to save money, despite lawmakers’ promises that they would exclude most dangerous prisoners and sex offenders.”
The move has been met with harsh criticism because the prisoners are only being released because the state wants to save money. The prisoners are more likely to reoffend because they are not getting released because of conduct or character but because of the bottom line, which could pose a serious public safety issue.
Sources:
http://news.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2011_0309enraged_dad_i_will_kill_sons_murderer_release_eyed_for_monster/
http://www.politicolnews.com/huckabee-pardoned-cop-killer/
http://washingtonindependent.com/36706/court-order-to-release-controversial-yemeni-snitch-could-cause-more-problems-at-gitmo
http://www.presstelegram.com/breakingnews/ci_14793618
