Huckabee Commuted Sentence of Suspect in Seattle Police Slayings

Maurice Clemmons, a suspect in the Sunday morning killings of four police officers in a Seattle coffee shop, has a long history of mental illness and criminal charges. He has committed burglary, rape, and theft, and claims he is the messiah. And nine years ago, the Seattle Times reports, then-Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee commuted one of his 95-year prison sentences.

Clemmons was cornered in a Seattle house Monday morning and shot, according to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department. A spokesman told the Associated Press that he "may be deceased from his gunshot wound."

Clemmons committed scores of crimes while living in Arkansas, before moving to Washington and starting another wave of violence. "This is the day I've been dreading for a long time," Pulaski County, Arkansas prosecutor Larry Jegley said when informed that Clemmons was a suspect in the Seattle murders.

The commuted sentence could have political implications for Huckabee, who is thought to be considering a presidential run in 2012. His office said Sunday night that if Clemmons is found guilty, "it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington state."