Arkansas Governor to pardon son's drug conviction: report

Reuters
Arkansas governor Mike Beebe looks on during a Martin Luther King Jr. service in this January 15, 2013 Governor's office handout photo
Arkansas governor Mike Beebe looks on during a Martin Luther King Jr. service in Little Rock, Arkansas in this January 15, 2013 Governor's office handout photo obtained by Reuters March 6, 2013. REUTERS/Arkansas Governor's Office/Handout (Reuters)

(Reuters) - Outgoing Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe said on Wednesday that he will pardon his son for a felony drug conviction, local media reported. Beebe, who is set to leave office in January due to term limits, said he would pardon his son Kyle, now 34, for his 2003 felony conviction of marijuana possession with intent to deliver, local broadcaster KATV said. "Kids, when they're young, do stupid stuff. He was no different," Beebe told KATV in an interview published online. "If they've straightened up, to get their life back on track and have a second chance, so this is no different. It's different because it's my son." Kyle Beebe was sentenced to 3 years supervised probation and fined, KATV reported. The Arkansas Parole Board last month recommended that he be pardoned, records on the agency's website shows. Governor Beebe said he has pardoned over 700 people, largely for non-violent offenses, KATV said. (Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco; editing by Ralph Boulton)