Ward Bird’s pardon hearing set for February 1st

  Yesterday the New Hampshire Executive Council decided by a vote of 5-0 to grant Ward Bird his pardon hearing request and the governor decided not to block the move–which he could have done under the state law. Last night the Executive Council announced the date of the hearing and it has been set for February 1st.

  Governor John Lynch is urging Ward Bird to be at his hearing in order to “explain himself” because Bird refused to take the stand in his original trial, and he would like to hear Ward Bird describe what happened that day in his own words, while the Executive Council is debating whether or not to subpoena Christina Harris–the woman that Ward Bird allegedly threatened–to testify at the hearing because as Executive Council member David Wheeler said, “her credibility has to be part of the hearing because the case is a total ‘He said, she said.”

  And that is what is at the crux of this case, it is one man’s word against one woman’s and I am mot sure how there was ever enough evidence in this case to convict Ward Bird. As it stands right now it looks to me as if a complete pardon isn’t going to happen, but rather a commutation of Ward Bird’s sentence. While this will return Ward Bird to his family he will still lose his constitutional right to keep and bear arms, so here is hoping that a full pardon is still not out of the question.

  We will know soon enough, the Executive Council will vote on February 2nd–one day after the hearing–and the recommendation will be sent to the governor’s desk for his decision.