2: Richards not down on the state
Posted on Thursday, July 20, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/News/160980/
Bill Carter, a former Arkansan and former lawyer for the Rolling Stones, said Wednesday he never heard Keith Richards say anything bad about Arkansas.
It surprised him that Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday cited Richards’ “marred” opinion of Arkansas as reason to give a pardon for the rocker’s 1975 reckless-driving conviction in Fordyce.
“I don’t think it was on his mind one way or the other,” said Carter, now a television producer in Nashville, Tenn. “It would shock me that he would ever sit down with anyone and say, ‘I’ve got a negative image of Arkansas.’ I think it’s kind of funny.”
Huckabee offered a further explanation Wednesday of the events leading up to his offer to give Richards a pardon, which he said people shouldn’t “get all serious” about. He said it came about after meeting Richards backstage at the Stones concert in North Little Rock on March 9.
“It’s not like [Richards ] is sitting around brooding about [the arrest ],” Huckabee said.
Huckabee likened the pardon to his presenting someone with an “Arkansas Traveler” certificate, which is given as a hospitality gesture. But he said the pardon would have “a little more meaning.”
The application for Richards’ clemency was filed last month. The signature on the paperwork is Richards’, according to Carter. The application says that “Governor Mike Huckabee — Chief Counsel Milton Fine” prepared the application.
Fran Curtis of New York City, a publicist for the Stones, said Wednesday that Richards is on tour in Germany and unavailable for comment, but she was able to get some information from the band’s manager.
“[Richards ] likes Arkansas very much,” Curtis said. “He has no bad anything about Arkansas. The way it came about I believe was the governor sort of approached them [about the pardon ], and they said that was great and very nice. I don’t know the specifics. It was very nice. They were very appreciative.”
Carter helped negotiate the plea bargain over the traffic stop in Fordyce that day in July 1975 and worked with the Stones for almost 20 years after that. If the whole thing bothered Richards, he would have said something during that time, especially since Carter was from Arkansas.
“I never heard him bring up the incident,” Carter said.
Huckabee explained that he has gotten to know Chuck Lavelle, the band’s keyboard player. Huckabee said Lavelle is a tree farmer in Georgia, and they met at a forestry conference. Lavelle offered to let Huckabee, who plays bass guitar for a band called Capitol Offense, meet the band members backstage during the show at Alltel Arena. Huckabee accepted the invitation.
“So I got to talking to Keith and Ron Wood [another Stones member who was stopped in Fordyce that day ],” Huckabee said. “Keith was saying, ‘I’ve been to Arkansas before. I hope the sheriff doesn’t come get me.’ He was kidding about it. I said ‘I can actually get that off your record.’”
Huckabee than recalled Richards’ response and tried to impersonate the rocker: “Oh, Mike, can you do that ? Oh, Mike can you... can you do that ?”
He said he wanted to give Richards something positive to think about Arkansas. He noted that Richards’ conviction is a misdemeanor.
“As a goodwill gesture I can clear his record and give him reason to be a good ambassador for Arkansas,” Huckabee said.
Fordyce Mayor William Lyon said he wasn’t happy about the pardon idea.
“The only reason [Huckabee’s ] doing it is for publicity,” Lyon said. “It’s just a publicity stunt.”
Lyon said the planned pardon sends a bad message about drugs, despite Richards not being charged with anything drug-related that day. Lyon noted Richards’ well-documented drug problems during that time.
Huckabee said there was nothing improper in his offering the pardon because Richards was a special case. He said granting this pardon won’t open the door to others who may have negative views of Arkansas. He said “I won’t respond” to Lyon’s comment about a “publicity stunt.”
Huckabee, a Republican, is considering a run for president in 2008. More than 100 news organizations ran articles about the pardon after the news was reported Wednesday in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. A Google search indicates that CNN, Fox News, The Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle and newspapers in Canada were among those running news of the pardon.
The Parole Board members, all appointed by Huckabee, voted unanimously July 3 to recommend the pardon. Huckabee will have the final say. It will be forwarded to him for consideration in about a month.
July 5, 1975, was the day Richards and Stones bandmate Wood ended up in Fordyce driving from Memphis to Dallas along back roads to see the countryside.
After eating, the two Stones, accompanied by a security guard and a fan along for the ride, were stopped by Fordyce police. Richards was driving. He bent over to adjust the radio and the car swerved, getting the attention of officers. Officers reported that they smelled a marijuanalike odor and ordered the two Stones to City Hall.
Richards was charged with reckless driving and possession of a concealed knife. The fan was charged with possession of a controlled substance.
The knife charge was dropped. Richards pleaded guilty to the reckless-driving charge and paid a $ 162. 50 fine.
On March 9 of this year, the band played before 15, 000 fans at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock. That day, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette printed an article about Richards’ old arrest in Fordyce.
“Anybody here from Fordyce ?” Richards asked during the show, adding that he “used to know the chief of police there.”
Huckabee said if the Rolling Stones performs again in Arkansas, maybe Richards “will say, ‘I’ve got a clean record in Arkansas. ’”
Carter said the pardon “is a wonderful idea.” The practical benefits ? “None whatsoever,” Carter said. He said the arrest was just one of several over Richards’ career, which Richards has been “perfectly honest about.”
The Arkansas pardon “won’t help all those other records out there,” Carter said, chuckling.