Man Pardoned by Barbour Kills Woman in DUI Crash

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Man Pardoned by Haley Barbour Charged in Fatal DUI


A man who was pardoned by former Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour has been charged with driving under the influence. The man was convicted for DUI three times before, Reuters reports.

Harry Bostick is accused of crashing a car into another vehicle while driving drunk. The collision killed the other driver, 18-year-old Charity Smith. Bostick, a former IRS agent, allegedly left the scene following the accident.

Bostick received one of the over 200 pardons from ex-Governor Barbour earlier this year. He was given the pardon for a 2009 felony DUI conviction. So why was a thrice convicted drunk driver allowed to go free?

It's not very clear. Bostick had applied for the pardon and his friends wrote letters of support to the former governor. Many cited Bostick's divorce and his son's death as reasons for his decline into alcoholism. One also said that he had stopped drinking.

The former governor has said he granted the pardons out of the spirit of forgiveness and to give inmates a second chance. His camp has yet to comment on Bostick's case.

Bostick has also been charged with causing Smith's death. If convicted, under Mississippi law he could receive up to 25 years imprisonment and/or a fine up to $10,000. Defendants can also have their driver's license suspended, car confiscated, and be ordered to attend alcohol rehabilitation classes.

Typically, a defendant's criminal record may also be considered during sentencing. However, in Bostick's case, that won't be entirely true.

That's because of the former governor's actions. Since his last DUI conviction was pardoned, Bostick's latest DUI charge will be tried as his third. In actuality, this is technically his fourth DUI offense.

Haley Barbour's critics have called his pardons "heinous." And Bostick's latest DUI charge isn't likely to change any of their minds.

[Deleted]

Why the fuck would you pardon someone who is a habitual DUI offender? The hell?

[charminglife]

Oh shit. I wish that Barbour could be held accountable for his pardons but I know that's not realistic. God, I feel terrible for the girl's family - and I think its so shitty that when he's tried for this crime it will *only* be considered his 3rd DUI because of the pardon. ugh.

[Deleted]

A second chance??? It was his THIRD DUI that landed him in the slammer any damned way. Clearly he'd already had his second chance.

[Deleted]

Ugh, that is awful.
That being said, I can see why they looked at his 'rehabilitation' and decided he was probably safe to let go. I'm not sure why the terms of his release would have allowed driving though - I would argue that with his record he should never have a license, ever.

I'm not sure how the laws work there, but up here if you kill someone while driving its usually a manslaughter or homicide charge of some sort - basically murder without the intent. The sentence isn't nearly as severe though - usually 3-7 years. Then again, our 'life' sentence is only 25.

[ttt]

In another article, it mentioned that the crash occurred one week after he got out of prison. So he didn't waste any time. Clearly rehabilitated....

[IIOY]

Was this guy part of Barbour's last minute mega-pardon sweep? He got a rash of shit for those pardons from just about everyone and my recollection is that he refused to explain in detail why he gave them.

[kellbell191]

Here, the difference between a third and a fourth isn't much, although it might affect his sentencing guidelines by six months or so. The bigger deal is that he was out in the first place to kill someone. And my position has always been that if you don't get it enough to aggressively pursue treatment the first two times, a third won't do it for you.

My other question is how the hell he had his license in the first place?

[Deleted]

He may not have had a license.