A man serving a life sentence for his murder conviction in Lowndes County Circuit Court is among those who would have been given a reprieve when former Gov. Haley Barbour granted more than 200 pardons.
Derrick Lynn Guyton, 40, is in an undisclosed hospital, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Corrections said Thursday. Barbour had suspended his sentence for medical reasons.
Procedurally, any inmate who is not in physical custody of the state Department of Corrections is responsible for his own medical expenses, she said.
Barbour’s order said Guyton is considered on supervised parole under terms of the pardon.
Guyton’s pardon was among 209 granted by the former governor on his last day in office Tuesday. The documents are posted on the Mississippi Secretary of State’s website.
According to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove granted only one unconditional pardon and suspended sentences or restored civil rights to 25 others. Kirk Fordice pardoned 13 and granted suspended sentences or restoration of civil rights to 26 others. Ray Mabus pardoned five and granted 68 suspended sentences or restoration of civil rights. Bill Allain granted no pardons and restored civil rights to 28.
In most of the cases, Barbour offered a “full, complete and unconditional pardon” in which the person is “absolved from all legal consequences of this crime and conviction.” In the eyes of the law, the crime and conviction never happened.
Two people convicted in cases from Oktibbeha County involving deaths are among the group receiving pardons.
Lindsay Kathryn Welch was sentenced Aug. 12, 2000, in circuit court for culpable negligent manslaughter.
Welch, who lived in Columbus at the time, was convicted of stuffing her newborn baby into a trash can when she was an 18-year-old student at Mississippi State University in spring 1999, according to Dispatch archives. She was sentenced to eight years. Welch said she gave birth in a bathtub at her parents’ home but the baby was dead when she disposed of the body in Starkville.
Mark Allen Hubbard was sentenced Oct. 21, 1996, to 10 years in prison for a conviction of vehicular homicide, his pardon says. In 1999, then-Gov. Kirk Fordice released Hubbard on parole to Tennessee to live with his parents and attend college. On Jan. 5, 2007, he was released from parole.
The pardons included two convicted of violent crimes.
Richard Earl Price was sentenced Sept. 1, 1988, in Lowndes Circuit Court for aggravated assault, his pardon says. He was released from probation Oct. 23, 1991.
Jimmy Donald Franks was sentenced Oct. 20, 2003, in Oktibbeha Circuit Court to five years on a conviction of aggravated driving under the influence, his pardon says. Three years of the sentence were suspended, and he was ordered to complete three years of supervised probation. Franks was released from county jail March 19, 2004, and completed his probation Dec. 4, 2005.
Barbour pardoned a Ridgeland man of two felonies from two cases.
Kevin Bradley Tabereaux, 33, then of 580 S. Pear Orchard St., was sentenced Aug. 1, 2007, in Oktibbeha Circuit Court to 20 years in prison and five years probation for the sale of cocaine, according to his pardon and Dispatch archives.
The pardon also absolves Tabereaux of a Sept. 3, 1998, Rankin County conviction for homicide by negligently operating a moving vehicle while DUI. His tentative prison release date is April 4, 2025, the pardon says. Tabereaux is the only local convict currently serving time at a Mississippi Department of Corrections facility.
The Dispatch compiled records of convictions from Lowndes and Oktibbeha counties. No Clay County convicts were among those pardoned Tuesday.
Lowndes County Circuit Court
n Ryan Jeremiah Cooper, of Columbus, was sentenced Aug. 29, 2002, for prescription forgery. He received five years of probation and a $1,000 fine. He completed probation successfully.
n Nathaniel Cunningham Jr. was sentenced Nov. 25, 1985, for felony false pretense. His sentence was discharged Nov. 3, 1988.
Oktibbeha County Circuit Court
n William Antoin Bardwell was sentenced Oct. 19, 2004, to three years suspended for sale of marijuana less than 1 ounce. He was fined $200 and ordered to pay $125 in restitution. His sentence was discharged Sept. 20, 2007.
n Thomas Holt Beasley, of Columbus and Starkville, was sentenced Aug. 3, 2007, for sale of marijuana more than 30 grams but less than 1 kg and sale of cocaine. He received seven years on the marijuana conviction and 20 years plus a $5,000 fine and five years of parole on the cocaine conviction. The sentences were to be served concurrently. Police found an estimated $10,000 in marijuana and cocaine in his Starkville apartment. Beasley was placed on parole Oct. 27, 2011.
n Mark Steven Ford was sentenced Oct. 19, 1981, for burglary. His sentence was discharged Sept. 12, 1985.
n Matthew Nelson Godfrey was sentenced Jan. 8, 2009, for conspiracy to commit grand larceny. He received five years of nonadjudicated probation.
n Jeffery Lee Haire was sentenced Aug. 8, 1991, for possession of a controlled substance. He was sentenced to five years with five years suspended upon completion of five years probation. On Aug. 2, 1994, a court order modified probation and put him on unsupervised probation through Aug. 8, 1996.
n Zachary Kane Polk was sentenced Oct. 27, 2007, for sale of a controlled substance. He has been on parole since Nov. 16, 2009.
n Jason Todd Shivers was sentenced Feb. 4, 1993, for sale of LSD. His conviction was expunged in a July 12, 1999, order filed in Oktibbeha County Circuit Court.
n Robert Edward Stanfield was sentenced Jan. 29, 2007, for three convictions of sale of a controlled substance (prescription medication). His sentence will be discharged Oct. 5, 2012.
n Thomas Stewart was sentenced Feb. 4, 1988, for receiving stolen property. His right to vote was restored in 1993 via state legislation.
n John Mitchell was sentenced April 30, 2008, for sale of a controlled substance. His tentative discharge date is April 30, 2012.
n Brenda Louise Travis was sentenced Oct. 24, 1985, for felony shoplifting while on probation from Louisiana. She was sentenced to two years through an agreement with Louisiana.
Monroe County Circuit Court
n Bobby Ray Camp was sentenced Jan. 28, 1993, for burglary, larceny of a building and embezzlement. He completed his sentences Feb. 4, 1994.
n Tammy Kay Swanson Jones was sentenced Oct. 23, 1989, for two counts of uttering forgery. She was also pardoned for an April 8, 1991, burglary conviction in Monroe. Her sentence was discharged March 19, 1995.
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