Two Jefferson County residents currently serving prison sentences were recommended for pardons by the Arkansas Parole Board Sept. 30, while the application of a third was turned down.
The board recommended that Governor Asa Hutchinson pardon James Wilkerson Jr., who was convicted of possession of marijuana and theft by receiving, and James R. Morrow Jr., who was convicted of possession of a controlled substance. The application of LaRosha Hall, who was convicted of forgery and theft of property, was said to be without merit.
At the same meeting, the board said applications by Charles Colbert, Kenneth B. Ellenburg and Misty K. Milliken, who were seeking to have their sentences commuted were without merit.
Colbert was convicted of first-degree murder in Desha County, Ellenburg was convicted of two counts of rape in Arkansas county and Milliken was convicted of two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of methamphetamine/cocaine in Arkansas County.
All the recommendations will be sent to the governor who will make the final decisions.