FOSTER PULLS OUT PARDON PEN, GIVES CLEMENCY TO 83

Gov. Mike Foster signed twice as many pardon recommendations Friday
afternoon as in his entire first term as governor. Foster signed 83
pardon recommendations, compared with the 37 he signed from 1996 to
1999, according to information from the Secretary of State's office.

Of the recent clemency actions, 65 were for pardons after sentences
were served. The remaining 18 clemency actions dealt with shortened
sentences and eligibility for parole -- also known as
commutations.

"The vast majority of them were drug offenses," said Patrick Martin,
assistant executive counsel to Foster.

Other offenses included theft, simple burglary, theft of cattle and
one case of malfeasance in office from Plaquemines Parish. That case
involved former parish councilman William Hardin, who was convicted of
using a parish-paid secretary in his private business and unauthorized
use of parish-owned equipment and supplies.

With the clemency decisions Friday, Foster cleared out the remaining
pardon recommendations from his two terms. Some of the actions were
based on Pardon Board recommendations made in his first year in
office, Martin said.

"We've had a backlog for a long time. The first four or five years, we
were still getting our feet off the ground," Martin said.

As a result, Foster signed relatively few pardons in his first term,
he said.

During Foster's eight years as governor, he received 690
recommendations for relief from the Pardon Board, 100 of which went
through risk review panels for nonviolent offenders. The panels were
formed in 2001 as a way to facilitate pardon and parole applications
for nonviolent inmates.

Of those people who were already out of jail, Foster granted 326
pardons and denied 108, according to Foster's office. One died before
his pardon was granted posthumously.

Not all applicants for relief ask for a pardon, which clears a
person's record and can restore rights. Some asked for shortened
sentences or eligibility for parole.

In the past eight years, Foster granted 122 people such commutations
and denied 147, including some who went through the risk review process.

Martin said that although the Pardon Board and Foster have been
criticized for not being compassionate enough to inmates looking for
clemency, the process has been fair.

"We think for years and years in this state the pardon process has
been bent toward the inmate," Martin said. Now, he said, it's more
balanced.