3729

From the USA Today article

In a pardon order Friday, Bevin said Baker had made “a series of unwise decisions in his adult life” and that his drug addiction “resulted in his association with people that in turn led to his arrest, prosecution and conviction for murder.”

When White People have a drug problem that leads to crime, they’re good people who made “unwise decisions” in life. When Black People have drug problems that lead to crime, they’re thugs who get maximum prison sentences.

3730

The other dude who committed less crimes, he’s apparently one of the real bad ones.

3731

I believe the preferred nomenclature used by people like Bevin is “strapping young bucks”.

3732

Party of personal responsibility in action.

3733

A Tale of Two Matts, a Republican Parable:

Matt Bevin, outgoing Kentucky Governor, pardons man who was addicted to drugs claiming he made “poor choices”, those choices encompassed numerous crimes up to and including murder.

Meanwhile…

Matt Gaetz, noted Florida man and House Representative with a “poor choices” history of his own, uses his elected government position to publicly attack Hunter Biden, a private citizen, who had a drug problem years ago, but has not committed any crime other than going to work for a foreign company while the son of a sitting VP, a situation that had already been investigated and dismissed as nothing.

If this doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about the modern Republican Party there are hundreds more stories just like it. Have you heard the one about the sitting U.S. President who used his official social media account to attempt to bully a child because he was jealous? 2019 is full of Grimm’s Reality Tales.

3734

Steel your hearts with hate to equal theirs. Hold it firm, keep it precious. Your hate will see you through.

3735

Why is Bevin doing this? Is it literally just “you voted me out, so fuck you?”

3736

I believe the GOP members call this winning.

3737

One guy’s family held a fundraiser for Bevin. No conflict of interest there!

The guy who murdered and decapitated the woman I have no idea. Same with the child porn guy. Does seem like a fuck you. Maybe he will pardon all the terrible people and then move out of the state!

3738

WaPo’s take:

Bevin issued 428 pardons since his defeat to Democrat Andy Beshear in a close election in November, the Louisville Courier Journal reported. His list includes a man convicted of reckless homicide, a convicted child rapist, a man who murdered his parents at age 16 and a woman who threw her newborn in the trash after giving birth in a flea market outhouse.

He also pardoned Dayton Jones, who was convicted in the sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy at a party, Kentucky New Era reported.

It is not unusual for governors to issue pardons as they leave office, but Bevin’s actions boggled some of the state’s attorneys, who questioned his judgment.

“What this governor did is an absolute atrocity of justice,” said Commonwealth Attorney Jackie Steele, a prosecutor for Knox and Laurel counties. “He’s put victims, he’s put others in our community in danger.”

“I’m a big believer in second chances,” Bevin said in a message left with The Washington Post on Thursday afternoon. “I think this is a nation that was founded on the concept of redemption and second chances and new pages in life.”

3739

It seriously seems like the guy is just throwing a tantrum.

3740

This just happened last year. The man was convicted for raping a nine year old boy. Freeing this guy is terrible. He’ll probably do it again. This is unbelieveable to me, but then again so much of what the Republicans do is unbelieveable.

3741

Turns out the Republicans had a slightly different definition of Family Values than the rest of us.

3742

I’m expecting this guy to be caught doing some of the things these convicted criminals did in the not too long future where he can say, but people change!

Actually, I do believe people can change, but that is not what he’s doing here.

3743
3744

More great humor from conservatives. They are so witty!

3745

Trump campaigned pretty hard for Bevin, didn’t he? Seems like reporters should be asking him about each of these pardons. Every day.

3746

In fairness, Trump’s pardoned dudes who did worse.

3747

To me it seems like he’s trying to set the new Governor up for failure on crime down the road. You pardon 428 convicted felons. If even just 11% of those people commit more crimes after release, and it’s likely the more heinous offenders will do just that, that’s nearly 50 examples of “look what happened under Andy Beshear’s watch!”. Nevermind that Bevin is the one that put these people back on the streets, Kentucky Republicans will be quick to blame Beshear because they’re all soulless disgusting sleazeballs.

It’s also possible Matt Bevin just wants to watch Kentucky burn now that he can’t be Governor anymore. Seems like that’s a fairly common theme among the GOP these days. If you can’t control it to your own benefit, burn it down. Hopefully there is a Democracy left to salvage after November 2020.

3748

This is just phase 1 of Bevin’s master plan to form a crime syndicate after he leaves office. It shall be called… The Revenge Society!