The Buddhist Prisoner Huckabee Didn't Pardon

Frankie Parker was a convicted murderer who converted to Buddhism on death row in an Arkansas penitentiary. He corresponded with a Zen priest and also found spiritual support among a Buddhist sangha in Little Rock. By all accounts he was a changed man, and he became something of a spiritual leader in the prison.

And then Mike Huckabee became governor of Arkansas.

A number of spiritual leaders, including Mother Teresa and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, wrote to Huckabee asking the governor to spare Frankie Parker's life. Gov. Huckabee's response was to move *up* the date of execution so that Parker could be executed six weeks *sooner*.  This apparently was Huckabee's very first proclamation as governor. It was as if he couldn't wait to kill the Buddhist.

Here is a blog post where I discovered Frankie Parker's story:
http://www.mahablog.com/2009/11/30/as-governor-huckabee-found-some-prisoners-more-pardonable-than-others/
An older post, from two years ago:
http://www.mahablog.com/2008/01/11/frankie-parker-a-tale-of-two-prisoners/