Prosecutors Are Preparing A Letter For Governor Huckabee

Prosecutors from around the state are preparing to send Governor Huckabee a letter recommending ways to reform the clemency process. But despite an apparently new willingness to work together, a debate still simmers over how much the governor must explain himself before he commutes sentences to make killers eligible for parole. Earlier this week, the governor asked the state`s 28 elected prosecutors to send him their input on how to improve the clemency process. Last month, Huckabee acknowledged the process was flawed by his policy of withholding specific reasons for granting clemency. Brent Haltom, the prosecutor in Texarkana, is the president of the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association. He said yesterday that 25 of the state`s 26 prosecutors had signed a letter to be released Monday. In addition to applauding Huckabee for seeking their input, the letter will call for more detailed public explanations for granting clemency. Huckabee has already said he`ll do that.