Governor Mike Huckabee commuted the death sentence...

Governor Mike Huckabee commuted the death sentence of Bobby Ray Fretwell to a sentence of life without parole. Fretwell was to be executed on February 16. One of the jurors from the original trial, Gene Stinnett, had contacted the Governor and said that Fretwell had not received an adequate defense and that the juror had gone along with the rest of the jurors in the death sentence because he feared being shunned by the community. Five relatives of Fretwell's victim met with Gov. Huckabee to try and persuade him not to commute his death sentence. It was the first time since 1970 that an Arkansas Governor has granted clemency to a death-row inmate. In 1999, there were five commutations in the U.S.