A local Arkansas newspaper is reporting that Gov. Sarah Sanders is pardoning a turkey at the governor's mansion despite denying clemency to a developmentally disabled convicted murderer.
The Arkansas Times reported Friday that Sanders was slated to spare the fowl in Little Rock.
"Later today, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders will 'pardon' a turkey in front of the Arkansas Governor’s Mansion," according to the story published by the outlet earlier on Friday.
The article comes down hard on her executing the traditional "executive indulgence to the bird" by sparing its life but then failing to do the same for a human being supposedly rotting in prison for a crime that he may not have committed.
The article writes that "the governor is oblivious to the grotesque optics of this particular ceremony at this particular time."
Charlie Vaughn was convicted, along with other co-defendants, in the 1988 robbing and slaying of 78-year-old Myrtle Holmes in Fordyce, Arkansas.
Sanders’ denial of Vaughn’s request for executive clemency comes after evidence was put forward in his petition that another man had confessed to the murder as part of what the outlet claims is a "mountain of other evidence of Vaughn’s innocence" that came to light.
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Further, in 2018, one of Vaughn's co-defendants, John Brown, was found to be exonerated of the same crime when U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson ordered him set free after spending 26 years behind bars.
Earlier this month, the governor, who used to serve in former president Donald Trump's cabinet as his White House Press Secretary, released a brief statement on the decision by her to hold off on springing Vaughn from incarceration.
"The Governor completed her review of Mr. Vaughn’s file last week," it reads, according to the Arkansas Times. "Unfortunately, she has chosen not to grant clemency at this time. He will be able to reapply in 6 years, pursuant to statute."
The paper noted that Sanders’ communications director didn't respond to its request for comment on its story.
The paper slammed Sanders for the poor optics of failing a man that may have been wrongly convicted.
It notes: "A silly holiday photo op has a small amount of political value, while allowing a sliver of grace and humanity to a man who the justice system failed decades ago does not."
