Story Created:
Jul 31, 2008 at 4:12 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Jul 31, 2008 at 5:02 PM CDT
Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour's speech at the Neshoba County Fair Thursday was disrupted by a woman's repeated screams.
The woman--apparently a friend of a murder victim--repeatedly shouted the victim's name, overpowering Gov. Barbour's words.
The outrage stems from a decision earlier this month, when Gov. Barbour indefinitely suspended the life sentence of Michael Graham.
Graham is now a free man on parole for the 1989 shooting death of his ex-wife, Adrienne Clasky.
Governor Barbour paused during the interruption, then said, "One of the great things about our country is free speech and even somebody like this [the protestor] has the right to stand up and say that she disagrees with something the government does."
The disruption led the crowd of more than 100 supporters to respond, chanting, "Haley! Haley!"
In a news conference held right after his speech, Gov. Barbour commented on the woman's outrage. He emphasized Graham's good behavior as a reason for authorizing his release.
"If he [Graham] continues behave and perform as he has the last 20-years, then he's going to get a second chance," Gov. Barbour said.
The Clasky murder happened in Pascagoula, and Gov. Barbour's release has fueled outrage throughout Mississippi's Gulf Coast since mid-July.
Gov. Barbour continued saying that he suspended Graham's sentence, in part because its custom at the end of a Governor's term.
Graham is now working as a trustee through the Department of Corrections. Trustees are state prisoners--some murderers according to the governor--who work in orange jumpsuits outside the governor's mansion and on state highways.
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