JACKSON, Miss., Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant says he will not have prison inmates working at the governor's mansion following the controversial pardons by his predecessor.
A Bryant spokesman told The (Jackson) Clarion-Ledger the practice was ended Thursday.
"As governor, Bryant first discontinued the practice of inmates spending the night on the mansion grounds and then the tradition of pardoning those individuals," spokesman Mick Bullock said. "Bryant stated that he would work towards phasing out the use of trusties at the mansion, and that last phase of Bryant's plan was completed today."
Gov. Haley Barbour issued scores of pardons Jan. 6 as his term came to an end. While many of the recipients were already out of prison and got pardons so they could vote, four men convicted of murder and one convicted of robbery who had worked at the governor's mansion were freed.
Six new trusties were assigned to the mansion Jan. 3 to work as groundskeepers. Four were convicted of murder, one of a drunk driving crash that killed two people and one of cocaine dealing.
Bryant has not yet moved his family into the mansion. He has said the 1981 rape and killing of an aunt has made him more aware of victims' rights.
