The man Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. appointed to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole Wednesday is no stranger to the justice system or the board.

Keith Hamilton, who stepped down from the board just two years ago, was one of more than 170 applicants for the opening created in late April when board chairman Mike Sibbett announced his retirement.

Sibbett has stayed on the board until the state finds a replacement. Hamilton's appointment is pending Senate confirmation.

Hamilton, 47, grew up in North Carolina and completed an undergraduate degree in criminal justice at North Carolina State. He got his law degree from BYU in 1986 and was the J. Reuben Clark Law School's first black graduate, he said.

From BYU, Hamilton joined the Navy as a judge advocate from 1986 to 2001. In 2001, he joined the Air Force as a reservist and supports Hill Air Force Base's legal office.

And from 1997 to 2003, he served as a member of the Board of Pardons and Parole, having been appointed by Gov. Mike Leavitt.

In 2003, he walked away from another five-year appointment to the board to start a private law practice that revolved around representing inmates and helping them prepare to go before the board, Hamilton said.

"I've helped people. I think I've helped the system," Hamilton said. "I think I've gained insight. I think the insight will help make me a better board member."

He said he's glad Huntsman has given him the chance to go back to the board.

"Keith has the right temperament and the right background to fit precisely into the vacancy left by Mike Sibbett," Huntsman said in a news release announcing the appointment.

Parole board members study cases seriously and vote their consciences while trying to achieve justice, he said.

"Justice is trying to strike that balance between the needs of society and the perpetrators of crime," he said.

And for the most part, he said, he was able to sleep at night with the decisions he was a part of from 1997 to 2003.

Hamilton is married, has six children and lives in South Jordan.

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com