Gov. Mike Beebe plans to pardon a felon with close ties to the Beebe family who was convicted of a sex crime six years ago.
Top law enforcement officials from Faulkner County, where the crime occurred, oppose Beebe's decision, saying the sex offender -- who hopes to work with children in the future -- poses too great a risk.
The offender, 34-year-old Michael Jackson, is one of 25 people Beebe plans to pardon in a process that will be finalized within a month if no new information comes to light, Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said.
Beebe, who is leaving office in January, announced his decision Wednesday, one day after Arkansans chose his successor.
Jackson, a University of Central Arkansas graduate and former bank employee, was arrested in a 2007 Internet sting by police in Conway after attempting to meet with an officer who had posed as a 14-year-old girl. Jackson was 27 years old at the time.
In his letter to the Arkansas Parole Board and Beebe, he said he wants to coach and mentor youths and even teach if possible.
Jackson served his two-year prison sentence after a guilty plea to Internet stalking of a child, a Class B felony. He completed his parole sentence with flying colors, state corrections officials said.
DeCample said any application for a pardon must meet high standards to be considered, and the vetting process is rigorous.
When asked if Beebe had put off announcing the pardon until just months before leaving office, DeCample said there is no politics or favoritism at play, noting that Beebe is now publicly announcing his intention to pardon Jackson.
"We can't sneak anything through," DeCample said. "[The pardon process] is a very lengthy process. ... No one gets to cut in line."
After reviewing Jackson's file, the Parole Board recommended that Jackson's rights be restored by way of pardon.
But Faulkner County Sheriff Andy Shock is adamant in his opposition to the governor's decision and said that if the pardon goes through, Jackson be able to a carry a gun and would no longer be listed on the state's sex offender registry.
"Instead of having to register as a sex offender, and law enforcement and neighbors knowing where he is, he could get out and be an unregistered offender. ... There could be extreme danger to children," Shock said. "When it comes down to it, one of our top priorities should always be protecting children."
Faulkner County Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland also said he opposes Beebe's decision.
"People with proclivities to hurt children shouldn't be given the benefit of the doubt," he said.
Posing as a 14-year-old girl on the Internet, Conway detectives had an online "sexual conversation" with the suspect and agreed to meet him near a Taco Bell in October 2007.
Officers staked out the fast-food restaurant and watched for a man who said he'd be wearing "red pants, driving a white car."
Jackson stopped by the Taco Bell but drove away without making contact.
Eventually, detectives met him at a home in Conway. Jackson first denied trying to meet an underage girl only to later admit that he had been chatting online with her and went to meet her.
This is his third pardon request.
He has applied for a pardon twice before, Hiland said, and he has objected to it twice before.
In a copy of his application for parole, Jackson reiterated his guilt, said that he had learned from his mistake and was committed to having a positive effect on his community.
"I am in no shape or form a repeat offender of the crime that I was convicted of," he wrote. "If I get a second chance it will be like [turning] my lights back on."
In the letter, Jackson also stressed the profound role Beebe played in his life while growing up in Searcy.
Not only a friend of Beebe's son, Jackson was also on the same peewee football team, one coached by the future governor.
"I can't explain the feeling that I had when I heard you introduce me as your second son when I was younger," he wrote. "You taught me why it is proper to wear a jacket to dinner after six o'clock. You taught me that mistakes don't define a person, but rather what is learned and the actions taken after it do."
DeCample said that with any pardon there will be those who disagree, but ultimately, the decision rests with Beebe.
When asked if Jackson benefited from his relationship with the Beebe family, DeCample said that the governor always considers the personal circumstances of any pardon.
"The governor does have a high baseline standard for all pardons, but he also believes in second chances in the right circumstances," DeCample said. "A personal experience will give you better knowledge of one person's file than someone you don't know. How much that does or doesn't influence the final decision is just another factor in the process. At the end of the day, there will always be a human factor to it."
Since his release from prison in January 2010, Jackson has helped coach Amateur Athletic Union baseball and said he wants to be a counselor, teacher or coach so he can find ways to prevent others from making similar mistakes.
"[If pardoned,] I will be a better citizen. I will be a better man. I will be a better brother. I will be a better son," he wrote. "I am already a better person."
Metro on 11/07/2014