Mississippi's attorney general said Thursday that the state may have to issue a nationwide manhunt after four pardoned murderers left jail and "hit the road running."

"We'll catch 'em. It's just a matter of time," Attorney General Jim Hood told CNN.

The four were among nearly 200 convicted criminals to whom Gov. Haley Barbour granted clemency or a pardon in a final act before leaving office this week.

The governor's actions have set off a legal firestorm in Mississippi.

A judge issued a temporary injunction Wednesday forbidding the release of any more prisoners. And the process of releasing 21 other inmates has been halted, said Hood, who believes the former governor put people at risk and sought the court order.

The pardons include the four convicted murderers and a convicted armed robber who were released Sunday. The five now must contact prison officials on a daily basis as their fate is adjudicated, but their whereabouts are unknown, Hood said.

A court hearing on the matter will be held January 23.

Hood said the state cannot issue an arrest warrant for the five who were released because they have not committed a crime.

"We have not found any law that will support that," Hood told CNN. "They have a legal document saying they are free to go.

"There are some tough legal issues we are trying to address," he said. "This is such a unique problem that no law has ever had to address yet. We're having to make new law here."

Hood said he did not know Barbour's reasons for the pardons and clemencies, but said he owed the public an explanation.

He gave the governor a tongue-lashing, comparing him to the unethical, greedy commissioner in the 1980s television series "The Dukes of Hazzard."

"He's tried to rule the state like Boss Hogg and he didn't think the law applied to him," Hood told CNN Wednesday.

Hood said Barbour violated the state's constitution because the pardon requests for many inmates were not published 30 days before they were granted, as required.

Mississippi is one of the few states that requires advance notice.

"This isn't a partisan issue," according to Hood, who is a Democrat. "Either you followed the constitution or you didn't."

Barbour is a conservative Republican.

Hinds County Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green issued the injunction Wednesday, saying it appeared some pardons, including those for four murderers, did not meet the 30-day requirement. Any inmates released in the future must meet the standard, Green ruled.

On his way out the door, the governor approved full pardons for nearly 200 people, including 14 convicted murderers, according to documents the Mississippi secretary of state's office released Tuesday.

The four murderers who received full pardons last week -- David Gatlin, Joseph Ozment, Charles Hooker and Anthony McCray -- were cited in Green's order.