LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Mike Huckabee, while governor of Arkansas, pushed for the release of a convicted rapist despite the fears of victims, a liberal blog reported.
Huckabee's presidential campaign denies he played a crucial role in the parole of Wayne Dumond, The Huffington Post said. The blog said a former Huckabee staffer supplied copies of victims' letters to Huckabee after the campaign denied he had seen them.
Dumond, who died of natural causes in 2005, was convicted of the rape and murder of a Missouri woman after his release in Arkansas. He was also a suspect in the rape and killing of another woman.
"I feel that if he is released it is only a matter of time before he commits another crime and fear that he will not leave a witness to testify against him the next time," one woman wrote the Parole Board in a letter forwarded to the governor.
Dumond's case became a cause celebre with some conservatives, including New York Post editor Steve Dunleavy, who claimed Dumond had been railroaded in deference to another Arkansas governor, Bill Clinton. One of Dumond's victims was a distant Clinton relative and daughter of a major Clinton campaign contributor.
