Arkansas governor plans to pardon son for 2003 marijuana conviction

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe addresses a news conference in Little Rock in this 2012 photo (AP/File)

Outgoing Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe plans to pardon his own son for a 2003 felony conviction for marijuana possession.

Matt DeCample, a spokesman for the Democratic governor, told the Associated Press that the pardon would be among a set issued by Beebe next month.

Kyle Beebe, now 34, served three years of supervised probation, paid $1,150 in fines and court costs, and had his driver's license suspended. At the time of his son's arrest, the elder Beebe was a few months into a four-year term as the state's Attorney General.

The governor told KATV Wednesday that he would have pardoned his son earlier, but "he took his sweet time about asking."

"He was embarrassed," Beebe told the station. "He's still embarrassed, and frankly, I was embarrassed and his mother was embarrassed."

Fox 16 reported that Kyle Beebe was recommended for pardon on Oct. 20 by the Arkansas Parole Board.

"Eleven years have passed since that time and I can assure you that I have learned from my mistake," the younger Beebe wrote on his pardon application. "I am asking for a second chance to be a better son to my parents and prove to them that I am the person they raised me to be."

Beebe told KATV that he has pardoned approximately 700 offenders, most of them non-violent, in his eight years as governor. The station reported that nine other offenders with similar convictions on drug charges were recommended for pardon by the board.

Beebe will leave office next January due to term limits and be replaced by Republican former congressman Asa Hutchinson.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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