( CNN ) -- Getting the convicted murderers pardoned by outgoing Mississippi Gov . Haley Barbour back in prison is like `` being on a manhunt with one arm tied behind my back , '' the state 's attorney general said . Highlighting the difficulty is the case of Joseph Ozment , whom authorities finally located Monday in Wyoming , said Jim Hood , the attorney general . `` We ca n't treat him as an escapee . He has a document that says he 's a free man as of now , '' said Hood . `` All we have is a civil document we served him with . That is the most we can do . If he does n't show up in court , we will move to hold him in contempt . That 's the difficult part of this process . '' Ozment 's whereabouts had been unknown since his mother picked him up on January 8 after his release . Ozment is one of four convicted murderers Barbour pardoned this month . The others are : David Gatlin , Charles Hooker and Anthony McCray . Ozment did not appear at a court hearing in a case challenging the pardons . This week , a Jackson , Mississippi , judge is expected to hear the case again . If Ozment does not appear , the judge can hold him in contempt , Hood said . As he closed out his second term as governor , Barbour granted `` full pardons '' -- meaning the convict 's record is effectively wiped clean -- to more than 200 people found guilty of a variety of crimes . All four of the convicted murderers he pardoned were serving life sentences and worked as trusties at the governor 's mansion . The move stirred outrage among relatives of the pardoned murderers ' victims . `` It 's just an every minute , constant , in the back of your mind , where is he ? What is he doing ? '' said Mary McAbee , sister of Rick Montgomery , a store clerk shot to death by Ozment in 1992 . Ozment pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole . `` I 'm fearful . He 's a cold-blooded murderer to do what he 's done , and if he thinks that he may go back to prison . What 's he got to lose ? '' she said . Also concerned is Tiffany Ellis Brewer , whose sister was shot and killed by David Gatlin . Gatlin walked into a trailer in 1993 where his estranged wife , Tammy Gatlin , lived and shot her in the head as she held their 6-week-old baby in her arms . Brewer said she wants her sister 's killer back in prison . `` He got life plus 30 years , you know ? And he served 18 of them . My sister lived 20 years . It 's ridiculous , '' she said . Late Monday , Hood spoke to CNN 's `` AC360 , '' slamming Barbour and questioning the motives behind his pardons . `` He ran the office of the governor as if it was Mississippi in the 1950s , '' said Hood . The attorney general , a Democrat , said many of the inmates Barbour , a Republican , pardoned came from influential families or had connections to the Republican party . `` There 's not any logical explanation other than it was just a whim , and by doing it on a whim at the last moment that 's how he violated our Constitution , '' Hood said . Barbour has defended his pardons . On Friday , he appeared on CNN 's `` John King USA , '' saying Ozment and the others have been rehabilitated . `` He has no obligation to do anything . He 's been pardoned . He 's a free man , '' Barbour said . Authorities found Ozment at a hotel in Laramie , Wyoming , on Monday . He had been staying under another name . CNN 's Rich Phillips contributed to this report . Watch Anderson Cooper 360° weeknights 10pm ET . For the latest from AC360° click here .
Mississippi 's attorney general slams outgoing Gov . Haley Barbour . Joseph Ozment pleaded guilty to the 1992 murder of Rick Montgomery . Score: 6 The pardons have stirred outrage from victim 's families and law enforcement .