L.A. Times examines Huckabee deal to write book on school shootings, refusal to donate any of fee

Days after two teenagers shot and killed four classmates and a teacher and wounded 10 others in Jonesboro, Ark., in 1998, then-Gov. Mike Huckabee, left, got a $25,000 advance to co-write a book on youth violence -- then said he had the idea before the killings and refused to donate any of the money to the victims or the school. But in the next election, he carried Jonesboro, a city of 55,000.

The story of the book Kids Who Kill is widely known in Arkansas, but not around the country. Today, Richard Serrano writes it for the Los Angeles Times and voters in the Republican presidential primaries, where Huckabee hopes evangelical and rural voters will help him overcome his campaign's financial disadvantage.

Serrano reports that survivors "told Huckabee they wanted assurances the killers could not write books or sell their stories to Hollywood, and that Huckabee looked them both in the eyes and said: 'That would be blood money.' " At a second meeting, he said, "No one should profit."

"Dogged about why he declined to donate any of the book proceeds to the scholarship fund, Huckabee said he planned to use the money for his own children's college education," Serrano writes. "Later Huckabee stayed in his private office in the Capitol in an attempt to evade further questions. Then he rushed to his state car and slammed the door on reporters." (Read more)