but four out of the five people just let out of prison are convicted murders like one who shot randy walkere head, walker survived. >> governor himself will have to look me and the family in the eye and say i will let this guy go. there wasn't any of that it, that's a coward's way out. >> reporter: here is where it gets tricky. those five who were pardoned over the weekend had jobs cooking cleaning at the governor's mansion meaning while they were in prison they may have had the governor's ear . >> now the latest on severe weather across the country. two possible tornadoes struck north carolina. this photograph was shot by a man near his home. another storm hit the state in burt county. several homes in that area were destroyed. >>> some winter weather hit oklahoma. it's snowy and windy in the city. the conditions made driving difficult but the weather is expected to get better by the weekend. >> now maryland's most powerful radar and the forecast certified most accurate by weather rate. >> better by the weekend there but here things will begin to change for the colder at the very least as

randy walker, shot in the 4ed by one of the men, did find the new governor. >> the constitution gives the governor that power. it's his decision to make. barbour ter: governor said it was tradition to give workers at the state capital a bit of understanding. we went looking for barbour, too. he's beginning his private 4r50i6 in florida, earning cash by speaking at a big event sponsored by a bank. families of the victims wish he had talked to them firssteve steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. >>> president obama is back at the white house. after a quick campaign fund-raising trip to his hometown. they can't give up in the battle to win the white house for another four years. after the official events, the president made a surprise visit to his old home. mr. obama confidently told his neighbors, i won't be back to this house for another five years. >>> meanwhile, mitt romney opened his south carolina primary campaign by blasting the president for being silent when it comes to the threat posed by iran. he acknowledged the nearly 10% unemployme unemployment rate. he holds an event there be

then shot her friend, randy walker. walker survived, ellis didn't. david ruth was the first police officer on scene, and has never forgotten what gatlin did. >> i think he is a barbaric individual to shoot someone like that, especially holding his child, his own child, and him leave that child laying on the floor. >> reporter: the governor saw him differently. the confessed murderer worked in the governor's mappings. he called him diligent and dedicated. barbour cancelled gatlin's life sentence, setting him free. as of early this week, david gatlin, convicted murderer, is a free man. >> a full and unconditional pardon. >> yeah. >> which means -- >> which means he has the same rights you have. he has the same rights i have. >> including to carry a gun. >> yeah. >> do you worry about david? >> yes. >> are you afraid of david? >> i am afraid he will come after my family, randy's family, and like randy says, finish what he started. >> she also fears gatlin will try to contact the son he left in his dead mother's arms, who is now 18, and the family is des

gatlin also shot her friend randy walker, he survived the gunshot wound to the head, walker says he will now live in fear now that gatlin is has been released. >> i feel like my safety is in jeopardy. tammy's family, i feel they are all in jeopardy. i feel fear for the safety of my family. it's an issue. anybody that might be with me at the time he decides to do something. we feel like we are in jail now and david is out of jail. >> reporter: haley barbour released a statement explaining about 90% of the people were no longer in custody and a majority of them had been out of jail for years. a court hearing on the issue is set for january 23rd. sherrie johnson, abc2 news. >>> headlines from around the nation this morning -- a rash of bus accidents in the district of columbia. brace yourself, look to the right of your screen. watch. this is a pedestrian right there. the bus driver ran over him and the driver didn't even stop. [horn honks] >> the good news is the guy wasn't hurt too badly. here a bus slams into an suv stopped at a school zone. another one hits an suv in an intersection with

randy walker miraculously survived and he joins me by phone from an undisclosed location.ng us by phone. you did speak to the media earlier in front of the cameras. why have you now decided to go to an undisclosed location? >> well, let me just say jim hood has become quite a hero to all the victims and their families. megyn: that is the attorney general. >> the reason we are not doing on camera interviews and not having our location disclosed any more is jim hood's move was totally unprecedented. it's not something that anybody expected. we were pretty well satisfied that david has got even out on parole -- a pardon, and that there is nothing we could do about that. our focus was on getting the laws changed and getting the message across that we need to take this governor away from the governor and put it back in the hands of the people so -- megyn: randy, i know that this man, david gatlin not only did he kill his estranged wife and shoot you at the time, but he made a threat about coming back. tell us that. >> well i don't know that -- if he ever actually made a threat.

her friend randy walker survived. he had been shot in the head.ys laws that allow killers to walk free need to be changed. >> if the governor or any governor has the right to single hand deadly circumvent the entire judicial system, i think the governor himself ought to have to look me and the family in the eye and say, hey, i'm going to let this guy go. there wasn't any of that. that's the coward's way out if you ask me. >> then there's ricky montgomery. he was a store clerk shot and killed in a holdup. his nephew joins us by phone from memphis. thanks for talking with us, mark. when did you learn that joseph ozmand who was sentenced to life in prison and will now be free, when did you learn he'll be released? >> we got a call on saturday letting us know that he would be released on sunday. >> and does this mean,'s being pardoned, so that essentially means it's a clean slate for him? >> that is correct. that is my understanding, that he was granted a full pardon, which means that it will not follow him. there will be no record of this basically.

randy walker was shot in the head by one of the pardoned men, did find the new governor, sworn in hours after the pardons were issued. >> this, again, has given mississippi a black eye. >> reporter: some of the pardons were for prisoners assigned to cook and clean at the governor's mansion. the attorney general said he would try to block the pardons, arguing that the state constitution requires 30 days to know beforehand. and that didn't happen. we went looking for barbour. and found he is beginning his life in florida. why he may have rightly decided that some of the prisoners were innocent or served their time, families of the victims wish he had talked to them first. zeev osunsami, abc news, atlanta. >>> tonight, the u.s. marine corps is going public about a controversial video that has surfaced online. it appears to show marines desecrating the corpses of taliban fighters. we should emphasize the authticity of the video has not been verified. but the marines released a statement saying a full investigation is under way. and those responsible will be held accountable for their action

david gatlin murdered his estranged wife and shot that other man, randy walker.he prosecutor in that case said that haley barbour is insane for letting this man go. those are strong words. randy walker survived the attack on him. they were not sure that he was going to survive. listen to his feelings and the way he talks about the news that the man who shot him is being reloosed. >> i feel like my safety is in jeopardy. i feel like we are in jail now and david is out of jail. we will forever be looking over our shoulder wondering if today is the day that gafd decided he was going to finish what he started. >> randi, what has left a lot of people angry is that he has left the governor's office, left town without offering any explanation, giving any comment. we have tried repeatedly, his spokesperson, to decide what this was based often. >> where are these free murderers now and can anything be done to reverse this? all right. we lost ed lavandera. released, pardoned by governor haley barbour. >>> romney has won two primaries. will south carolina be a knockout? so

taik randy walker.t 24 hours after he was released from prison through an automated message. the list is eight pages long, and there's not a lot of explanation or details to who they are, where they might be. any information like that that would be valuable to crime victims and something they would want to know. none of that has been provided. a great deal of people wanting answers and explanations today. >> ed, thanks so much from dalla dallas. >> general matters could regain its title of world's biggest automaker. alison kosik is at the new york stock exchange with details on this. how significant is this? >> it is pretty significant, because when it comes down to it, the bragging rights do count. gm hasn't held the title of the world's biggest automaker in three years. remember, toyota has had the title. how is the title measured? by global sales. the official tally of the final 2011 sales numbers will be reported in a few weeks, and then this will become final. and you look at how gm has come back.

in the back and david gateland who shot and killed his estrangeed wife and then shot the friend randy walkerhave to say hey, i am going to let him get them. there was none of that. that is the coward's way out. >> reporter: the governor explained why he did that in an exclusive introduce. >> my first four years, i did what they do, and the mansion is staffed and almost all are murderers because the experts say they're the least likely to commit another crime if their crime was a crime of passion. the department of corrections sends us who works there and -- >> reporter: he respected how many were hurt. >> and mostly they're professed to be christians, and we believe that -- forgive us and in some second chances. that is what this is about they all said they were guilty and served on average 20 years in the penitentiary. these are notgy guys that got a slap on the wrist. >> reporter: he added the majority of those granted clemency were out of prison for years and 90% of the decisions were based on the recommendation of the parole board. in washington, doug mcelway, fox news. >>> and desperate

. >> that man randy walker was shot in that case as well. he obviously recovered.ith us is our legal team this evening. attorney and fox news analyst lis wiehl. advantage. keys to happy and fulfilling life. lis wiehl filling in for kimberly guilfoyle. haley barbour going out and he pardons this guy because he worked in the governor's mansion on release thing. >> he was on good behavior. he amongst some of the other who was pardoned worked at the governor's mansion for many years and part of this massive pardon. >> this is headlines. this is 18 years this guy served. he is out, right? >> he was out as of sunday. that was it. he signed the pardon and the guy walked. >> the attorney general of mississippi says that barbour violated the law. >> maybe. the attorney general says maybe because there is a provision under the mississippi constitution that says that the inmate himself, not the governor has to post it within 30 days of release in the notice in the county where the crime happened. >> that's he is going to pay for the ad. >> pay for the ad in the' into. >> bill

randy walker who was shot by david gatlin and tiffany ellis brewer whose sister was killed by david gatlinandy and tiffany, i appreciate you talking with us. randy, i'll start with you. david gatlin shot you in the head and he shot your friend who is tiffany's sister and killed her. she was holding her baby is what we understand what happened. how did they notify you that he was going to be pardoned by the governor of the state? >> well, on friday before the notification i had gotten a letter from mississippi department of corrections, the parole board, and they said that they had denied him parole and that he would be looked at again in october of 2012 so i kind of breathed a sigh of relief that i'd have 9, 10 more months of pretty much safety. saturday morning i got up and went to work at about 10 clock i got a phone call that said he had been released with a full and unconditional pardon and that he was -- his release time was -- they wouldn't tell me when he would be released or what day. and then monday i got an automated call from a system that said he had been released on sunday. so

and her friend, randy walker. >> i fired the first gunshot.e stepped up to tammy with her holding that baby in a cradled position and shot her with that baby's head no more than 8 inches from where he shot her, just real close. came to the edge of the bed. put the gun between my eyes. i turned my head sideways. he shot me in the side. that probably saved my life. >> he lives in fear gatlin will try to finish what he started. heigate thought gatlin would be behind bars for years to come. instead, he was set free. governor barbour granted pardons to more than 200 convicts overall. the vast majority were on parole already. a court blocked their release because there is reason to believe some prisoners didn't follow the right procedures. under section 124 of mississippi's constitution, inmates seeking pardons have to run notices in local papers for 30 days. anthony mccray says he didn't run any notices and the mississippi attorney general says the governor didn't do what he was supposed to do, make sure the proper procedures were being followed, i

. >> judge jeanine: joining me on the phone is randy walker who was shot by david gatlin. dr.hospicer to was killed by one of the convicts pardoned. jean-patrick dolan, criminal trial attorney and the desoto district attorney who prosecuted the osmond case. i will start with you, randy, you are on the phone? >> yes, ma'am. >> judge jeanine: thanks for being with us this evening. i understand you are in hiding. can you tell us why? >> well, we know now where david is but and we are still in hiding because until he shows in court they get some closure to this matter we feel like we might be in even more danger. >> judge jeanine: now, when gatlin was convicted of killing his wife and shooting you, and he was sentenced to life, did you ever think that you would be in this situation? >> well, at the time david was convicted the law was a little bit different and i knew he would get out one day, probably on a parole but i never dreamed he would get a pardon. >> and john, do you think that the governor's clementscy powers that i'm going to talk to jean-patrick dolan should include th

and her friend, randy walker. >> i fired the first gunshot.e stepped up to tammy with her holding that baby in a cradled position and shot her with that baby's head no more than 8 inches from where he shot her, just real close. came to the edge of the bed. put the gun between my eyes. i turned my head sideways. he shot me in the side. that probably saved my life. >> he lives in fear gatlin will try to finish what he started. heigate thought gatlin would be behind bars for years to come. instead, he was set free. governor barbour granted pardons to more than 200 convicts overall. the vast majority were on parole already. a court blocked their release because there is reason to believe some prisoners didn't follow the right procedures. under section 124 of mississippi's constitution, inmates seeking pardons have to run notices in local papers for 30 days. anthony mccray says he didn't run any notices and the mississippi attorney general says the governor didn't do what he was supposed to do, make sure the proper procedures were being followed, i

. >> judge jeanine: joining me on the phone is randy walker who was shot by david gatlin. dr.ohn hospicer to was killed by one of the convicts pardoned. jean-patrick dolan, criminal trial attorney and the desoto district attorney who prosecuted the osmond case. i will start with you, randy, you are on the phone? >> yes, ma'am. >> judge jeanine: thanks for being with us this evening. i understand you are in hiding. can you tell us why? >> well, we know now where david is but and we are still in hiding because until he shows in court they get some closure to this matter we feel like we might be in even more danger. >> judge jeanine: now, when gatlin was convicted of killing his wife and shooting you, and he was sentenced to life, did you ever think that you would be in this situation? >> well, at the time david was convicted the law was a little bit different and i knew he would get out one day, probably on a parole but i never dreamed he would get a pardon. >> and john, do you think that the governor's clementscy powers that i'm going to talk to jean-patrick dolan should includ

randy walker, shot in the head by one of the pardoned men, did find the new governor. >> the constitutionision to make. >> reporter: some of the pardons were for prisoners assigned to cook and clean at the governor's mansion. governor barbour once explained it was tradition to show those workers mercy. mississippi's attorney general said he would try to block most of the pardons, arguing that the state constitution requires 30 days' notice beforehand and that didn't happen. we went looking for barbour too and found that he's beginning his private life in florida, earning cash by speaking at an event sponsored by a big bank. while he may have rightly decided that some of the prisoners were either innocent or served their time, families of the victims wish he had talked to them first. steve osunsami, abc news, atlanta. >> i know it's a political tradition. i don't think pardons and, you know, in the minutes before you leave office sits well with anybody regardless of what side of the aisle you sit on. it never passes the smell test. >> from 200. and previously he had only issued five pardon

. >> david gatlin shot his ex-wife as she held her 6 week-old friend and shot randy walker.. ellis didn't. david root was the first officer on the scene and never has forgotten what gatlin did. >> i think he's barbaric, can senselessly cold-blooded shoot someone like that, and see specially holding his own child, and him leave that child laying on the floor? >> reporter: but governor haley barber saw gatlin differently. the confessed workers worked in the governor's mansion, and barbour also canceled his life sentence. you heard right. he is now a free man. >> a full and unconditional pasch. >> yeah. >> which means -- >> which means he has the same rights that you have, that i have. >> reporter: including to carry a gun. >> yeah. >> reporter: do you worry about david? >> yeah. >> reporter: all frayed? >> i'm afraid he will come after my family randy's family, and like randy says, finish what he started. >> reporter: she also fears he'll try to contact the son he left in the dead mother's arm, who is now 18, and the family is desperately trying to protect. barbour has trigger

however, when you talk to the families, the victims, randy walker was shot in the head by david gatlin. he said the governor himself should have to look me and the family in the eye and say, hey, i'm going to let this guy go. because of all this backlash, have you reached out to him or to the families of any other victims? >> you know, when i became governor, i made plain that i would follow the tradition of governors in mississippi, for decades, the mansion, part of the staff are trustees from the state penitentiary. in my time, all but one of them have been murderers. because the experts say that those are the people who are the least likely to commit another crime and that they are the ones who will serve the best. i have found that to be the case. these people that have been -- that are at issue here, david gatlin, these guys served on average 20 years in the penitentiary. david gatlin, in 20 years, never had one citation for any infraction or violation of the rules. >> but in terms of the man he shot in the head and that man survived, have you reached out to him or other victim's

david gatlin also shot tammy's friend, randy walker, who survived. >> i think the governor himself ought to have to look me and the family in the eye and say, hey, i'm going to let this guy go. there wasn't any of that. that's the coward's way out if you ask me. >> also cleared earnest scott favre, the brother of brett. he was convicted of manslaughter in 1997 after he drove drunk into the path of an oncoming train and killed his best friend. state records show more than two dozen of the inmates pardoned were convicted of murder, manslaughter, or homicide. four of them worked in the governor's mansion for barbour. >> god bless you. great success. >> reporter: when he left office barbour gave no explanation. a move that seemed all the more surprising given the tough stance on crime he often took. in his previous eight years in office he pardoned only five people, nine were executed. last night he finally released a statement defending his actions by saying approximately 90% of these individuals were no longer in custody and a majority of them have been out for years. that was little comfo