After Thursday’s Mississippi Supreme Court ruling that former Gov. Haley Barbour’s pardons would stand, Attorney General Jim Hood said he wants to let voters decide whether the judiciary should be able to overturn a governor’s pardon, reports the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. Hood challenged the 203 pardons Barbour granted during his last week in office, arguing that they did not comply with a constitutional provision that requires clemency applicants to publish a newspaper notice for 30 days.
“I intend to seek an initiative to amend Section 124 of our Constitution to make it very clear that the judicial branch is responsible for enforcing the 30-day notification period in the future,” Hood said. “I am calling on all our victims’ groups, law enforcement and other volunteers to help me obtain the necessary signatures to place the measure on the ballot.” The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled 6-3 in reversing a lower court’s decision that had granted Hood a temporary restraining order.