Amendment filed on gubernatorial pardon powers

State Sen. Michael Watson, R-Pascagoula, on Monday filed a constitutional amendment aimed at limiting a Mississippi governor’s powers to grant clemency to convicted criminals.

Watson’s amendment, if passed by the Legislature, would then go before voters. It would create a “tiered” system that would forbid pardons for the most violent crimes, such as capital murder, murder, capital rape and violence against children, unless there were clear evidence, such as DNA, of a wrongful conviction.

Sun Herald
2/20/12