Pardon granted to former Oconee politician

Word from Columbia is that a candidate for Oconee sheriff seven years ago has won a pardon. During a hearing last week, the board of the state Probation, Parole and Pardons granted the pardon to James Bartee, who was arrested during the 2012 campaign for Oconee sheriff and sent to prison after being convicted of solicitation to commit a felony. The arrest knocked Bartee out of a heated campaign for sheriff, an election won by Mike Crenshaw. The case involved a plot to kidnap a circuit judge who was presiding over a hearing challenging Bartee’s qualifications to run. Bartee wound up with a five-year prison term, from which he was granted early release. His attempt to convince the South Carolina Supreme Court to review the case was denied last year by an order of the high court. However, Bartee won a pardon last Wednesday in a vote by the state board. Board spokesman Pete O’Boyle calls a pardon an act of forgiveness, although it doesn’t expunge or remove a conviction. According to Boyle, a pardon restores certain legal rights—such as the right to serve on a jury and, in some cases, gun rights and the right to run for public office.