went to court to block some of the pardons. he says they're a slap to the face of everyone in law enforcement, he will be with us with jeff toobin in a bit. first, four of the convicted murderers that got pardons were released sunday, according to mississippi department of corrections. one link between them, they all worked at the governor's mansion on a work release program. one of the men is david gatlin. these him there. the shooting victim he left behind and family of the victim that didn't live to tell the story are in a word scared. martin savidge joins me live. martin? >> reporter: it has been a chaotic last couple hours as the legal wrangling is under way to try to bring to a halt in some way the pardon process that was brought about as a result of former governor haley barbour. as you point out, there has been success on the part of the mississippi attorney general. they have that temporary injunction. what that means, those in prison, 21 that have not been released will stay in prison. as for the murderers, they are out, but ordered now to report through department of corrections on a daily basis. but right now, they are still essentially free. and what that means for the families of victims, they're not going to sleep until those men are back behind bars. i went for a strange drive with randy walker. >> you're feeling the butterflies. >> a little bit. i don't know why. >> reporter: we ended up at a trailer park. how does it feel to be back in the neighborhood. >> it is a little weird. >> reporter: this is where he nearly died. july 2nd, 1993, the same trailer park, that's randy on the stretcher. >> i heard the first gunshot. he stepped up to tammy with her holding that baby in a cradle position, shot her with that baby's head no more than 8 inches from where he shot her, just real close. he came around the edge of the bed, put the gun between my eyes. turned my head sideways, instead of shooting me in the forehead, shot the side by my eye. probably saved my life. >> it was a bloody scene. two people shot in the head. very horrific. >> got to my mom's house, and she came up to me and hugged me and she said he killed her, tiffany. and i knew immediately that it was david gatlin. >> reporter: he shot his estranged wife tammy as she held their six week old son in her arms. then shot her friend, randy walker. walker survived, ellis didn't. david ruth was the first police officer on scene, and has never forgotten what gatlin did. >> i think he is a barbaric individual to shoot someone like that, especially holding his child, his own child, and him leave that child laying on the floor. >> reporter: the governor saw him differently. the confessed murderer worked in the governor's mappings. impressed the governor. he called him diligent and dedicated. that's not all. he also cancelled gatlin's life sentence, setting him free. as of early this week, david gatlin, convicted murderer, is a free man. >> a full and unconditional pardon. >> yeah. >> which means -- >> which means he has the same rights you have. he has the same rights i have. >> including to carry a gun. >> yeah. >> do you worry about david? >> yes. >> are you afraid of david? >> i am afraid he will come after my family, randy's family, and like randy says, finish what he started. >> she also fears gatlin will try to contact the son he left in his dead mother's arms, who is now 18, and the family is desperately trying to protect. with a simple swipe of the pen, barbour triggered a strange role reversal. gatlin goes free while his victims say they are now sentenced to spend the rest of their lives in fear, and it is not just gatlin. victims say they have the same fears for the dozens and dozens of violent convicted criminals he turned loose in his last days, including other convicted murderers. >> how is the state of mississippi better off? how is the country better off? all these guys aren't staying in mississippi. they're going to be all over the united states. >> reporter: do you feel betrayed? >> i feel the system worked for the victims in this family. but i feel that the governor at that time is the one that let this family down, not the system. >> reporter: governor barbour. >> yes. >> in my heart i would like to think he didn't know, because if he did, we've had a monster for a governor, you know, a nonhuman feeling person. >> cnn senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin joins me along with attorney general jim hood. thanks for being with us. the court issued a temporary injunction which you saw it, blocking release of any of the pardoned prisoners until a hearing takes place. is it the sheer number of pardons you take issue with? other mississippi governors pardoned convicted murderers before. >> that's correct, but in this instance he didn't follow what's required by the constitution. i got out of the courtroom, the court issued a temporary injunction because our constitution expressly says in order for a pardon to issue, the person who is applying for it has to publicize in the local paper for 30 days prior to grant of the pardon. we have already found that wasn't done on many. the court ordered the 21 presently being processed by department of corrections, she has made department of corrections stop processing those until a hearing week from monday. five, four murderers, one armed robber are out and they have to report back to the department of corrections daily. i wish we could have gone out and arrested them, but the law wouldn't allow me to do that on those five. we are doing the best we can there. as far as the other pardons he issued, we have to go through those to see if there's any publication. >> if there was no publication in newspapers 30 days before, and the folks are out already, have already been released, do you want to -- would you call for them to come back to prison? >> that's correct. they will have to report to the court unless they can show it was published. >> all of the pardons would be null and void? >> right. they'll have to go back and serve their sentence. former governor barbour ran the state and governor's office like boss hog. he didn't follow the law. this is a simple constitutional provision, and governor barbour just didn't even follow it. it is very clear he had to have this information. he didn't obtain it before he signed the pardons, and that's caused a public safety issue. these families are afraid out here, the victims have been through a terrible amount. it is a slap in the face to all of the law enforcement, jurors, i was district attorney, some he cut loose, haven't had a chance to check the list for those, my former customers i prosecuted years ago. so you know, this is a significant problem, but i think we're going to get a handle on it. i think the evidence we've already seen, he violated the constitution and many if not most of those so-called pardons he gave will be held null and void. >> jeff toobin us with us. >> mr. hood, can i ask about the provision requiring publication in a newspaper of application for a pardon 30 days before the pardon is granted. in your experience has this ever been done, in earlier pardons, earlier in haley barbour's term or previous governors, had this been honored,this requirement to publish news of application for the pardon? >> yes. i mean, when you apply, parole board sends a packet telling the lawyer, whomever wrote the lawyer for you, what you have to do. many of them have followed it, and in fact, you know, just two years ago because of some of governor barbour's actions, we had to pass legislation requiring him to give notice to the victim and an opportunity to be heard before he issued a pardon. so we passed a law and he signed it, he completely violated that. he never sent information to victims and gave them a chance to respond. so it is apparently something that there again, he tried to rule the state like boss hog and he didn't think the law applied to him. certainly now we are having to clean up the mess he's made. >> attorney general, a lot of folks may not know, you are the only democratic holding statewide office in mississippi, obviously governor barbour is republican. some folks may say your actions are politically motivated. >> no. there are so many upset law enforcement officers that are republicans, this isn't a partisan issue. either you followed the constitution or you didn't. the judge found the constitution is clear, it appears the governor didn't follow it in many instances. i think by -- you can look at the constitution and you would agree. >> i have to say, i was unfamiliar with this provision. most states, and certainly the federal government, does not have this provision. the president can pardon anyone he wants and it has been controversial. president clinton pardoned mark rich at the end of his term. this requirement is straightforward. you don't have to be a lawyer to understand it. it says no pardon can go into effect without -- >> you think they can be overturned? >> i think they will be overturned unless you can prove the applications were made in the newspaper. >> governor barbour has issued a statement. i want to read you part of what it says. he says, quote, approximately 90% of these individuals were no longer in custody, and a majority were out for years. pardons were to allow them to find gainful unemployment and acquire professional licenses as well as hunt and vote. my recommendation was based on recommendation of the parole board in more than 90% of the cases. how do you respond, mr. hood? >> you know, the statistics excuse the situation. i am not talking about those that are ill, that we released on medical release or suspended sentences. only ones that we're dealing with are those that got full pardons. i think there's somewhere in the neighborhood of 175 of those, of the 216 total that he issued. so we're going to deal with those on pardons. some may have been entitled to a pardon. i mean, may have been grandfather done things right out there. still have to follow the constitution. the governor didn't do that. he didn't get the assurance that publication was done before he signed the pardons. now you see the results of it. >> jeff toobin, like the man convicted of murdering that woman while she was asleep, trying to shoot the other guy, is this as if that never happened now if he is pardoned? >> that's the thing about pardons that are so extraordinary. it goes back to before the american revolution. it goes back to the power of kings. it's as if he wasn't arrested. if you are a felon, you can't get a gun, run for office. if you get a pardon, all of that is out the window. you can buy a gun tomorrow, do anything someone never convicted of a crime. a pardon is a really powerful tool. >> mr. hood, there's a long history of convicted prisoners working at the mansion. my dad wrote a book about growing up in mississippi, at that time when i was a kid in '74 and '75, convicts were working in the mansion. do you think this is just because governor barbour met people, knew the people that he felt he would make these pardons? attorney general hood. >> there's a long history of convicted murderers working in the governor's mansion. it is part of the program. i stayed in the governor's mansion in the '70s once because my dad wrote a book in mississippi under governor finch. do you think this is because governor barbour knew these guys that he decided to pardon them? yeah. i mean, you know, there is a history for that. but you know, you still have to follow the law and you know, he failed to do that, and do it in a proper manner. he had the department of corrections try to publish notices for the five recently released. the ones that worked at the mansion. but they didn't get them done in time. they began publication, one in particular on december 15th, and the governor signed pardons on january 6th. so that's not 30 days. it is out of compliance with the constitution. it is not the convict's fault, but nevertheless, the law is the law and we have to follow it. >> attorney general hood, i will continue to follow it. thanks. jeffrey toobin, thanks. follow me on facebook or twitter. up next, the latest from south carolina. could be the last chance for the rest of everybody else to stop mitt romney. and shadowy super pacs paying for the attack ads. while the election watchdog can't seem to do its job on campaign anything. and the mysterious death of a journalist in syria. nic robertson was there moments before it happened. syria's dictator launches more violence against his people. and check in with isha. he seemed to be falling asleep in court the other day, couldn't stop yawning. joran van der sloot managed to stay away long enough to enter a plea in the murder case against him. we will tell you about the plea and the case against him. that and more when 360 continues. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] entune mobile technology. ♪ stronger! ♪ stand a little taller [ male announcer ] stay seamlessly connected to your smart phone. available on the reinvented 2012 camry. from toyota. ♪ my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it. ♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ keeping them honest on the campaign trail. the big reason the republican battle between mitt romney and newt gingrich has gotten nasty, not surprisingly has to do with money, with a system that allows people and companies to donate unlimited dollars with limited accountability and almost no one there to make sure they obey what few rules there are. it is turning south carolina into armageddon. that's where all of the major candidates were. mitt romney trying to make it three in a row after his victory last night in new hampshire. he finished fourth in south carolina in 2008. this time, rick perry standing by his attacks, calling bain investments get rich quick schemes. newt gingrich echoing that, slamming romney in an ad as someone that governored proabortion and quote can't be trusted. for ron paul, came in second, last day campaigning, taking the next four days off. the rest, a nonstop scramble. to stop mitt romney. last night he talked to piers morgan. >> this will be armageddon. they will come in with everything they've got, every surrogate, every ad, every negative attack. at the same time, we're going to be basically drawing sharp contrast between a georgia, reagan conservative and massachusetts moderate who's pro-gun control, pro-choice, pro-tax increase, pro-liberal judge, and voters of south carolina have to look and decide. >> see all of that interviews on piers morgan tonight. those ads are the kinds that tore him to pieces in iowa and bought and paid for by a super pac for mitt romney. restore our future. spent $4.5 million on anti-gingrich mailings and advertisements since beginning of the election cycle. before you feel sorry for speaker gingrich, the super pac supporting him, winning our future, hopes to spend $3.5 million in south carolina, including a half hour documentary titled when mitt came to town, running infomercial style on local stations. super pacs are new things, product of a supreme court ruling that allows people, corporations, labor unions, anyone to make unlimited political donations. super pacs and campaigns aren't allowed to collaborate, but restore our future is run by old friends. while gingrich rails against fat cat donors, his pac has a billionaire, sheldon adelson. he has written winning our future a $5 million check. it is difficult to know who is donating what. they require super pacs disclose donors monthly or quarterly. many timed it so they won't have to name names until the end of the month. by then, the race may be close to decided. keeping them honest gets worse when you look at the federal election commission. a coalition of watchdog groups is going after it. the fec is without question one of the most dysfunctional agencies in the federal government. this from a letter the group sent to president obama last spring. they say it is unacceptable the only agency charged with enforcing campaign financing rules on our nation's highest elected official is largely awol. here is why. it is split three to three, each are appointed by party leaders. that political deadlock stopped a number of potential investigations recommended by nonpartisan fec staff from going forward. prevents them from revamping rules to take the new super pacs into account. the house held hearings on the fec dysfunction last fall, but only lasted one day. members only questioned the six fec commissioners, not outsiders that may have more ideas. joining us to talk about that and the free for all in south carolina, ari fleisher. and cornell belcher, and erick erickson. erick, the rules state super pacs can't have contact with campaigns or the candidates. is there any chance that someone like this guy sheldon adelson would fund a 27 minute anti-romney film if newt gingrich didn't want him to do it? >> probably not. they take their queues from candidates on the campaign trail. i think the issue of money and politics is overwrought by a lot of people. most voters don't care. the adds come one way or the other. the only thing sillier getting money out of politics is assuming we're going to have peace in the middle east. >> it might hurt romney. could it end up hurting gingrich as well? >> i think the bain attacks are going to hurt newt, could also hurt romney. there's a rally around romney because attacks on bain are seen as attack on profit and loss and that which makes capitalism work. job creation work. i have to remind everybody. the reason we have super pacs is campaign finance reform. the parties used to basically be the policemen, and they were unheard of when the parties were in charge. they banned soft money and money flowed elsewhere, where? to millionaires with the money. >> cornell, isn't there a chance bain attacks may be coming too soon from a democratic perspective? with all the coverage, they might be old news to voters by the time the general election hits? >> no, it reinforces a narrative that will happen anyway about sort of, you know, in perry's words this vulture capitalism. so from a democratic stand point, you know, they can't come soon enough. it doesn't stop what we're going to do. still going to follow this narrative about whose side mitt romney is on. i think it is interesting that republicans are now sort of latching onto that populism. if you look at a state like south carolina, twice the unemployment as in new hampshire, more downward scale, you have that populism strain there i think is a place where a perry or newt can take advantage. you see a main street grass roots conservatism versus wall street conservatism that says you can't question authority and can't question the rich and powerful. it is an interesting divide in the republican party and i think perry and newt are crazy like foxes to go after it. >> are you surprised the field is this crowded, that everyone got a ticket out of new hampshire? >> to a degree, i am surprised by huntsman moving on. i think what a lot of people miss, anderson, is this year isn't like prior presidential election seasons because the republicans changed the calendar. up until about april 3rd, pretty much all of the delegate races are proportional. it isn't until april that winner takes all. someone could ride the wave and try to -- 60% of delegates for the convention aren't decided until after april. a lot is up for grabs. we picked 2.01% as of yesterday. >> but south carolina, that's the last retail politics stop before florida. florida, you need big money.