By Tim Smith, The Greenville (S.C.) News
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee is "appalled" by a television ad by a crime victims' group that criticizes him for the 1997 parole of a rapist who went on to murder a Missouri woman, Huckabee's presidential campaign told The Greenville News on Friday.
The 60-second ad, targeted for various markets in South Carolina Thursday night during the GOP presidential debates, includes a statement by the murdered woman's mother, Lois Davidson, who blames Huckabee for what happened to her daughter.
Huckabee has repeatedly addressed the issue of the rapist, Wayne Dumond, in interviews and on his website. Dumond died in prison in 2005.
"Governor Huckabee feels deep sympathy for Mrs. Davidson's loss," the campaign said Friday. "He is also appalled by this ad, which cynically exploits the profound and private grief of a mother in a truly despicable way, and recklessly abandons the truth of the case."
Huckabee has said the parole board was made up of Democrats appointed by his predecessors and that it was one of those predecessors, former Gov. Jim Guy Tucker, who made Dumond eligible for parole by commuting his sentence from life to 39 years.
Davidson issued her own statement Friday.
"Last night, Mike Huckabee accused me of being exploited and used for political purposes," Davidson said in her statement. "I assure you, Mr. Huckabee, I am not being exploited. I am fully aware of the actions I have taken in attempting to inform the public of your role in my daughter's rape and murder. I have spent over 7 years thinking about this. I am not a dupe. But you, Governor Huckabee, were duped time and again by convicted felons who once released from prison by you began hurting people again."
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http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-01-12-huckabee-ad_N.htm