>> there's outrage in mississippi over former governor, haley barb our's decision to pardon hundreds of inmates. mark potter is in jackson with more.
>> former gore hailey barbour is trying to soften some of the anger over the pardons he granted. meanwhile, a local judge has put some of those pardons on hold until they can be reviewed. on his last days in office, haley barbour , the powerful and highly-regarded mississippi governor ended up angering and confusing so many of his constituents. without explanation, he granted pardons or early releases to a long list of more than 200 convicts. including 21 murderers and many others serving time for violent crimes.
>> pardon me, this individual can go grab a school bus , go to law school . get a law degree .
>> reporter: among those granted pardons were five prison trustees, who worked at the governor's mansion in jackson. four were convicted murderers. among them, david gatlin, sentenced to life plus 30 years, for shooting to death his estranged wife, 2578y. as she held her 6-week-old son and for shooting her friend, who survived.
>> i cried, first.
>> reporter: tiffany is tammy's sister and said the whole family is furious with barbour , for releasing gatlin. causing them to live in fear.
>> he's a cold, calculated murderer. and why wouldn't he come back and finish what he started? you know. being a trustee at the governor's mansion does not change a murderer.
>> reporter: also among those pardoned, earnest favre, the brother of retired nfl quarterback, brett favre , he was convicted of a drunk driving incident in which his friend was killed. in a written statement sunday night, barbour 's office said, approximately 90% of those who received clemency were no longer in custody and a majority of them had been out for years. but shortly after, a mississippi judge issued an order blocking a release of any more prisoners and ordered the five trustees pardoned after working at the governor's mansion to appear at a hearing later this month.
>> it's a slap in the face to me as a prosecutor. for serving 20 years, that we have to go back and try to round up all of these convicts that have been turned loose. and try to fix the mess that he's created.
>> reporter: and here at the state capital , some of the lawmakers have been talking about proposed legislation, even a constitutional amendment to limit the governor's power to pardon criminals. ann?
>> mark potter , thank you so much this morning.
Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45969754/
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