Ronald Smith Denied Clemancy

I have been reporting on this particular case since Ron's plea for clemency was made public.  The parole boards decision is in and Ron Smith was denied commutation to life and prison and will almost certainly be put to death.  Ron is a Canadian citizen who received support from the Harper govt. only after the Canadian courts forced the conservatives to formally endorse Ron's plea for clemency.   Many believe that resistance and subsequently cold half-hearted support from Harper played a role in denial of clemency.

Ultimately the final decision is up to Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer.  Governor's rarely endorse even a positive parole board decision - this negative decision won't likely be overturned by Mr. Schweitzer.  Regardless its imperative that as many Canadians - North Americans write to Schweitzer and plead for Ron's life.

Contact the governor:

 

Governor Brian D. Schweitzer
Office of the Governor
Montana State Capitol Bldg.
P.O. Box 200801
Helena MT 59620-0801
(406) 444-3111, FAX (406) 444-5529

Lieutenant Governor John Bohlinger
Office of the Lt. Governor
Montana State Capitol Bldg.
PO Box 200801
Helena, MT 59620-1901
(406) 444-3111, FAX (406) 444-4648
by the Toronto Star:

CALGARY—The Canadian Press has learned that a Canadian on death row in Montana for killing two men 30 years ago has been dealt a major blow in his bid to avoid execution.
The Montana Board of Pardons and Parole is recommending against clemency for Ronald Smith — despite his apology at a hearing at the state prison earlier this month.
Smith’s lawyer, Don Vernay, says he’s not surprised at the board’s ruling.
He says it shows that the state of Montana has always wanted to have his client put to death.
The final decision now falls into the hands of Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
Vernay says he hopes Schweitzer will be more open-minded than the parole board.
READ MORE: Canada accused of ‘treachery’ after tepid support for death-row killer

DEER LODGE, MONT.—Lawyers for convicted double killer Ronald Smith are accusing the Canadian government of reneging on an offer to speak on his behalf at a hearing in Montana to determine whether he will get the death penalty or clemency.
The Harper government offered only tepid support for Smith’s plea for clemency with its initial response and made it clear there would be no one making a presentation at the hearing in Montana on Wednesday.
But Smith’s lawyers were excited on Monday when they received news that Marie-Eve Lamy, a consul at the Canadian Consulate General in Denver, was going to read a statement on behalf of the Harper government.
Lamy attended Smith’s clemency hearing Wednesday morning and was added as a last-minute witness for Smith’s defence team.
But in the afternoon, Lamy was gone, which prompted lawyer Don Vernay to read the copy he had of her statement into the official court record.
“We were really somewhat surprised and she said the Government of Canada wants me to read this,” he said, holding a copy of her statement.
“Then this morning she comes up and says, ‘I just heard from headquarters that they don’t want me to read this.’ They want her to read the original one instead. She said to me, ‘This is what they want and what do you want?’ I said nothing. I said, ‘Thank you very much,’ and let her go her way.”
The original letter, signed by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird in December 2011, was short and to the point.
“The Government of Canada does not sympathize with violent crime and this letter should not be construed as reflecting a judgment on Mr. Smith’s conduct,” reads the letter.
“The Government of Canada ... requests that you grant clemency to Mr. Smith on humanitarian grounds.”
Greg Jackson, Smith’s lawyer for 25 years, didn’t mince words about what he called an unexplainable change once again in the Canadian government’s position.
“It’s been treachery. It’s almost Shakespearean in nature ...They still supported clemency but they withdrew their enthusiastic support,” he said.
“It’s incomprehensible. It’s been devastating to the family, it’s been devastating to Ron particularly when they’re going around the world now where they’re enthusiastically throwing support to other Canadians facing death in other countries.”
The letter read in court said Lamy was providing testimony at the hearing on behalf of the Canadian government.
“The Government of Canada is confident that the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole will carefully review the case before you today concerning Mr. Ronald Smith, a Canadian citizen.”
The letter, although not a glowing endorsement, was considerably more enthusiastic than the original.
“Mr. Smith has served 29 years in prison for his crime and he has expressed remorse for his actions. The Government of Canada is seeking clemency for Mr. Smith on humanitarian grounds.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs didn’t immediately respond to a request for an explanation.
Jackson said Smith had enjoyed good support from Canada until Harper’s Conservative Party government was elected. Now he doesn’t know what to think.
“I just don’t understand it. I guess they claim that because this is a civilized country we have due process,” he said with a shrug.
“But regardless, a stance against the death penalty should be universal as far as the Canadian government is concerned. How do they pick and choose?”
Smith, 54, has been on death row ever since he admitted to shooting Thomas Mad Man Jr. and Harvey Running Rabbit in 1982. He originally asked for the death penalty, but soon after changed his mind and has been fighting for his life ever since.
He is asking the board to recommend his death sentence be commuted.
The Board of Pardons and Parole intends to release its recommendation on clemency the week of May 21.
Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer will have the final say.

Ron Smith Hearing for Clemency Set

CALGARY - A clemency hearing has been set for two days in early May for the only Canadian on death row in the United States.
Ronald Smith, 54, originally from Red Deer, Alta., has been on death row for the murders of Thomas Running Rabbit and Harvey Mad Man Jr. 30 years ago near East Glacier, Mont.

 http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/breakingnews/two-days-set-aside-for-clemency-hearing-for-only-canadian-on-death-row-in-us-139045464.html

Update and Petition on Ron Smith Getting Death Penalty

Once again I am stunned by the penchant of the political right for cruelty and a total lack of empathy.  I simply cannot understand how being a human being oneself, it can be so impossible to feel empathy for another human being, even one who has made the enormous mistakes Ron has.  Ronald has admitted to killing 2 men 30+ years ago.  And if true, it is the most serious of damage one person can do to another and to their respective families.  I'm not sure what the answer is when these circumstances occur, what is an appropriate manner for those responsible to accept responsibility and to make whatever amends possible.  But I feel quite certain about this, 30 years in the hole and then being put to death by the state which writes laws against killing - is wrong.  It just is.  

Sign the Petition to support Ronald and stop his execution.

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-ronald-allen-smith/sign.html#se

Are there any people in Canada working on this issue from a community level?  Please leave a comment or send me an email - j-sheryl@hotmail.com

Baird slammed for 'cynical' clemency plea

Double-murderer Ronald Smith asks to be spared death penalty

 By RANDY BOSWELL, Postmedia News January 21, 2012

 Opposition critics and one of Canada's leading opponents of the death penalty are denouncing Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird for sending a brief letter to the Montana parole board in which he appears to only half-heartedly request clemency for convicted killer Ronald Smith, the only Canadian on death row in the United States.
Alex Neve, secretary general of Amnesty International-Canada, described the letter as "deeply disappointing."
The federal NDP's justice critic, Jack Harris, called it a "deplorable" indication of the Conservative government's stance on capital punishment, and Liberal MP Dominic LeBlanc said the "weak" and "cynical" letter could effectively sink Smith's bid to avoid death by lethal injection.
In the letter, Baird prefaces his request by noting that the government was ordered to lend its support to Smith by the Federal Court of Canada. He then states that the government "does not sympathize with violent crime" and that Canada's formal request for clemency "should not be construed as reflecting a judgment on Smith's conduct."
The letter from Baird was included this week in Smith's formal application to have his death sentence for killing two Montana men in 1982 commuted to life imprisonment.
The request is expected to prompt an investigation by parole board officials, a formal hearing within the next four months and eventually a non-binding recommendation from the board to Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer on whether Smith deserves to avoid execution.
The 19-page application for clemency - accompanied by two other lengthy and impassioned letters of support for the 54-year-old Smith from a Catholic priest and prison educator - detailed Smith's record as a model inmate at the Montana State Prison, the failure of his first lawyer to accept a 1983 plea bargain that would have spared Smith's life, the abusive childhood Smith suffered growing up in Alberta and his "heartfelt remorse" over the crimes he committed nearly 30 years ago.
"Clearly, a more robust letter conveying detailed and forceful support would be constructive, including laying out the reasons why (in addition to a court order) the government believes Mr. Smith deserves clemency," Neve said.
"There are many such reasons."
Neve acknowledged that having Canada officially "on the record" as backing the clemency bid is "obviously welcome" - even if the Conservative government's support is, at best, lukewarm.
"It's very, very cynical to begin a letter to the Montana parole board by saying 'Look, I don't really want to do this, but I've been forced to,'" said LeBlanc. "If we think it's wrong to impose the death penalty on Canadians in Canada, we should have a consistent application of that principle when foreign jurisdictions are subjecting Canadians to that potential sentence."

Read more: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Baird+slammed+cynical+clemency+plea/6030715/story.html#ixzz1khfe2m9C

How Can We in Canada Support Canadian on Death Row

If ever there were a prisoner human rights issue for activists to do some advocacy around, the case of Ron Smith is it.  Ron has spent 30 years in an isolation cell in Montana and is now on death row awaiting his final appeal for clemency.  In a usual show of cruelty the Harper government has dug in its heals at every turn and made every effort to not support Mr. Smith!

If anyone knows of ongoing initiatives  ~ Canadian or American to support Ron, please post in the comments section so others can offer their support as well.

Likewise if anyone with experience or determination has ideas about how to begin some appropriate support for Ron....

Any initiatives should happen in conjunction with his defence counsel and perhaps someone has more skills than I do to track and contact them online.  Any supports need to be well thought out and planned for preferably with others who have experience with death row.

Please take a look at Wikipedia for links to articles on Ron's case.                           http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Allen_Smith

               

Application for clemency says death row Canadian Ronald Smith a ‘changed man’

Published On Wed Jan 18 2012

Bill Graveland The Canadian Press

CALGARY—Lawyers for the only Canadian on death row in the United States concede their client committed a “terrible offence” when he murdered two young Montana men 30 years ago, but say he doesn’t deserve to die.
Ronald Smith’s clemency application says he is a changed man who suffered through an abusive childhood.
Smith’s lawyers filed the necessary papers Wednesday with the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole in Deer Lodge, Mont.
Smith, 54, has exhausted all other appeals.
“In the face of the harsh circumstances of being locked down in virtual isolation for 28 years, he has nonetheless made a genuine attempt to live a life that exhibits remorse, rehabilitation, a changed heart and mind and a potential for good,” reads the document prepared by lawyers Greg Jackson and Don Vernay.
“We request that you consider and grant this application and commute Mr. Smith’s sentence from death to life without parole.”
The application is supported by a letter from the Canadian government.
“Mr. Smith is a Canadian citizen and is supported in his petition for executive clemency by the government of Canada, who have shown their support through the letter attached to this petition.”
The government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper initially balked at supporting Smith’s bid, saying he had been convicted in a democratic country. But the federal court forced the government to act on Smith’s behalf.
Smith, originally from Red Deer, Alta., pleaded guilty to two charges of deliberate homicide and two charges of aggravated kidnapping in February 1983 and requested the death penalty. He rejected a plea deal offered by prosecutors which would have given him life in prison.
He later changed his mind and asked the District Court to reconsider the death penalty. That has led to three decades of legal wrangling.
Smith was 24 and taking LSD and drinking when he and two friends met up with Thomas Running Rabbit and Harvey Mad Man Jr. near East Glacier, Mont. Smith and Rodney Munro marched the two men into the woods where Munro stabbed one of the victims and Smith shot both of them.
Munro accepted a plea deal, was eventually transferred to a Canadian prison and has completed his sentence.
Smith’s lawyers say his drug and alcohol use impaired his judgment. They also say he received poor advice from his lawyer at the time.
“As a result of the combination of his guilt over the offences, his virtual isolation in a foreign country without consular assistance, and the deplorable actions of his trial attorney, he instead chose to plead guilty and requested the death penalty,” argue Jackson and Vernay.
“Upon being placed in a less isolated environment, he immediately realized both the foolishness and impulsiveness of his actions and sought ... the original sentence offered by the state of Montana, but the state has adamantly refused to consider his request.”
The document says Smith began drinking as early as age 11 and was the eldest of four children who grew up in a violent and dysfunctional household. His father, an oilfield worker, was gone for long periods of time, which left Smith as the de facto man of the house. When his father would return, the violence would continue.
“Dolores Smith (mother) relates entering the room after Ron was abused by his father and seeing blood spatters on the walls from the beating Ron suffered at the hands of his father,” says the application.
“Ron’s sisters kept their suitcases packed, underneath their beds. They both relate that Ron was their ‘protector and confidant.’“
Smith’s lawyers also note that he had no prior history of violence before his arrest in Montana, has expressed remorse and accepted responsibility and had a long history of drug and alcohol abuse with no treatment.
The board of pardons and parole is likely to schedule a hearing on the application sometime this spring. It will make a recommendation either for or against clemency but the ultimate decision will fall into the hands of Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer.