Ellington

When you're caught in a sting to catch online sex predators, like Douglas Hindman was, it pays to have friends who dine at the governor's mansion when it comes time to get a pardon.

Lee and Maggi Lampton, after thanking Gov. Haley Barbour and his wife, Marsha, for "a lovely and special lunch at the Mansion," wrote: "As you count down the last few days of your governor's term, we would like you to ask you to consider pardoning our friend Doug Hindman. We have known Doug through church since he was a young man. Over the years, we taught him in both in both Sunday school and youth group. We have watched him grow into a fine young man."

In 2007, sheriff's deputies arrested Hindman along with 11 others as part of a joint effort between Hinds County law enforcement officials and Portland, Ore.-based nonprofit Perverted Justice. The operation resulted in Hindman's pleading guilty to the felony crime of cyberstalking, which enabled Hindman to avoid having to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Under a plea deal, Hindman received a suspended two-year sentence and had to pay fines totaling $10,000.

It probably didn't hurt in court that Hindman belongs to a prominent local family. His father, Steve, played tailback for Ole Miss, where he won most-valuable player in the 1968 Liberty Bowl game, and is a cardiologist in Jackson.

It also probably didn't hurt Hindman's chances for a pardon that the Lamptons and other recommendation writers pour thousands of dollars into the political coffers of mostly Republicans as well a smattering of Democrats.

Since the 1990s, Lee Lampton, president of Jackson-based Ergon Inc., and his wife, Maggi, have personally contributed more than $200,000 to federal and state campaigns in Mississippi as well as other states where Ergon, which operates a number of petroleum businesses, has financial interests and political action committees.

Lee Lampton has pumped at least $62,120 into state elections, since 1999, according to records from the Helena, Mont.-based National Institute on Money in State Politics. A little went to Democratic lawmakers such as Randy Swartzmiller of West Virginia, Michael Burrage of Oklahoma and Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe. However, the vast majority of Lampton recipients are Mississippi Republicans, including the various campaigns of Gov. Phil Bryant and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves as well as Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney and Barbour.

Maggi and Lee Lampton also have given about at least $150,000 to the federal campaigns of present and past members Mississippi's congressional delegation including Republican Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker, Republican Reps. Gregg Harper and Alan Nunnelee, and Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat, records from the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Responsive Politics show.

F. Earl Fyke III, a professor and cardiologist at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, also wrote a letter on Hindman's behalf. Fyke wrote that as Steve Hindman's partner, he has been well acquainted with the family for well over a quarter century.

Fyke declined to characterize Hindman as the naive young man the Lamptons portray in their letter. "I know how Steve and Madeline struggled and suffered with Doug during his earlier years and how they supported and stood by him when he was doing very little to help himself," Fyke wrote. He went on to describe a transformation that took place in Douglas Hindman's life. Without citing specifics, Fyke stated: "Clearly, he has redirected his life and has several years of good faith work and good behavior to prove it."

Fyke has also helped candidates over the years albeit to a lesser extent. He hasn't contributed much since the late '90s when he threw about $750 to Hosemann's unsuccessful bid for Congress, the Mississippi Republican Party and the New Republican Majority Fund, a PAC affiliated with former U.S. Sen. Trent Lott. On the state level, Fyke's $2,750 in contributions since 2002 include sums to the nonpartisan campaign of Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Jess Dickinson and Democratic state Rep. David Baria of Bay St. Louis, his brother-in-law.

Another cardiologist, Mart McMullan, wrote write a third letter on Hindman's behalf. McMullan also contributed $1,000 to Hosemann's 1998 congressional campaign and Dickinson's campaign for state supreme court. McMullan also gave $500 to Barbour in 2005.

Read Hindman's chat log here. WARNING: Contains graphic, sexually explicit language. (pdf 1.4 MB)

Read pardon letters written for Hindman here. (pdf 295 KB)

Read Ronni Mott's Nov. 7, 2007, report on Hindman.

Watch for our new feature on the Barbour pardons, "In Their Words: Excerpts from the Clemency Applications," starting Thursday at http://www.jfp.ms.

Previous Comments

ID

165944

Comment

Read the letters. It's a "misstep," if you're of "Ole Miss football fame." This turns my stomach.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2012-02-01T13:30:30-06:00

ID

165948

Comment

Read the chats logs,when he showed up for the sting operation,the cops shoulda shot that sick SOB and said he resisted arrest.

Author

BubbaT

Date

2012-02-01T16:47:30-06:00