(Image source: Mississippi Business Journal)

BY BLAKE HANSON

Many called it an odd move from the start. Outgoing Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour’s granted clemency to more than 200 prisoners. Now, it’s getting even more interesting after a judge halted 21 of the pardons. Why? Because of what experts are calling an odd provision that requires the prisoners to publish notices in the local paper. CNN Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin explains.

“There’s this weird provision, it says the pardon can only go into effect if the person applying for the pardon has published in a local newspaper, 30 or more days before the pardon goes into effect, a notice that he’s seeking the pardon.”

Even though Barbour issued the pardons on one of his last days in office -- an opinion writer for the Clarion Ledger says the move has effects far beyond his term...

“The mass last-minute clemencies will renew efforts in the Legislature to limit the governor's powers... Barbour's clemencies were a disservice to the families of victims and those in the criminal justice system who did their jobs only to see criminals so irresponsibly set free.”

And Mississippi’s new governor is trying to distance himself the the Barbour strategy. He talks with ABC News...

“You know, I had a aunt that was kidnapped, raped and murder, I’m a former deputy sheriff, I don’t think in the future people will have to worry about me pardoning anyone.”

A writer for The Economist says this move from Barbour was out of the blue.

“DURING the eight years he spent as Mississippi's governor, and even before that, when he chaired the Republican National Committee, Haley Barbour rarely made you wonder what he was thinking when he did something. A canny political operative and a shrewd, gifted politician, he did things for the right reason...”

Even before the pardon controversy -- Barbour found his way into the national spotlight with rumors he’d campaign for the GOP Presidential nomination. But, a writer for the Christian Science Monitor doesn’t expect that to happen anytime soon.

“The surprise spree caught both Republicans and Democrats off stride, and it suggested that Barbour, who had flirted with running for the White House last year, may be leaving politics for good.”

In a statement Wednesday, Barbour said he believes his move to give inmates reprieve has been misunderstood.