Ronald Smith

Lawyer for Canadian man on death row in Montana says U.S. ‘in the waning days’ of capital punishment

Smith originally asked for and was sentenced to death but later changed his mind and has been fighting execution ever since. He has had a number of execution dates set and overturned.

CALGARY—A lawyer for a Canadian on death row in Montana believes it’s only a matter of time before the death penalty in much of the United States is abolished and his client will be free to return home.

Ronald Smith, 60, is originally from Red Deer, Alta., and has been on death row since 1983 for fatally shooting Harvey Madman Jr. and Thomas Running Rabbit while he was high on LSD and alcohol near East Glacier, Mont.

He originally asked for and was sentenced to death but later changed his mind and has been fighting execution ever since. He has had a number of execution dates set and overturned.

“Last year, I think we’ve only had 20-some executions and those are really isolated to only three or four states, and only three or four counties in those states.

“Most of the United States has moved beyond this and there comes a time where the courts are going to say this is in fact cruel and unusual punishment.”

Lethal injection has been the sole method of execution in Montana since 1997. It is the only state that specifies the death penalty must be accomplished by an “ultra-fast-acting” barbiturate.

Executions in Montana have been on hold since 2008 when the civil liberties union filed legal action that argued that the sedative pentobarbital, which was being proposed by the state as a replacement for the previously used sodium pentothal, could lead to an “excruciating and terrifying” death.

District Court Judge Jeffrey Sherlock sided with the civil liberties group and rejected an appeal by the state of Montana.

Sherlock has now sanctioned the state over its year-long delay in complying with a court order to turn over documents that could reveal if there was manipulation of an expert witness.

The group questioned whether the testimony of Roswell Evans was manipulated at trial to bolster the state’s unsuccessful claim that pentobarbital was suitable for executions.

“We’ve got some emails and we’re now looking at those and trying to ascertain what else is there,” Waterman said. “They’re going to make us unpack this whole thing piece by piece so they’re not going to go easily.

“I don’t know that it’s going to have any direct or immediate impact on the case itself.”

Waterman said it is more a case over legal fees and whether Montana acted in a vexatious manner.

As for Smith’s future, Waterman doesn’t see the current ban on executions in Montana changing any time soon. It would require a new statute being introduced and adopted by both sides of the legislature and would have to be signed by the governor.

“They didn’t change the statute during the last legislative session so the next time up is 2019. I’m not hearing anybody really being that keen about changing (it).”

The Canadian government officially intervened on Smith’s behalf last year when it asked Gov. Steve Bullock to grant him clemency.

“My hope would be ultimately that we can find clemency for Ron so that he can move back to Canada,” Waterman said.

“If the death penalty is abolished he would be eligible to be moved right away.”

Final brief on lethal injections with judge; could affect fate of Ronald Smith

february 21, 2014

CALGARY – A ruling by a Montana judge is a step closer on whether the state can take a shortcut in its attempt to get approval to change the way it carries out executions.

Ron Waterman, lead lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, says the group has filed its final brief in a court challenge that could ultimately affect the fate of Canadian Ronald Smith.

Smith, originally from Red Deer, Alta., is on death row in Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge for murdering two men in 1982.

The civil liberties group filed a lawsuit in 2008 on behalf of Smith and another death-row inmate that argued the lethal injections used in state executions are cruel and unusual punishment and violate the right to human dignity.

Montana District Court Judge Jeffrey Sherlock ruled in September 2012 that the injections were unconstitutional. He pointed to a lack of training for individuals who administer the drugs and a discrepancy over whether two or three drugs should be used. He also questioned the method used to determine if an inmate is actually unconscious before receiving an injection.

His ruling gave hope to Smith.

But the Montana government convinced Sherlock to hear arguments from the state, which wants to bypass a requirement it would normally have to fill before getting the legislature’s approval to change the way executions are carried out.

The case has been dragging on ever since.

“They want to change the rules without going through the legislature and we’re saying not only can’t you change the rules without going through the legislature, but the way in which you changed the rules was totally incorrect,” Waterman said from Helena, Mont., in an interview with The Canadian Press on Friday.

“You have to go through a rule-making process, which means giving notice to the public, giving opportunities to be heard before adopting a rule.”

It’s now in the hands of Sherlock.

“This is the final briefing. This now puts all of those issues before the district judge and the judge will render a decision maybe within a couple of months — sometime in March or April,” Waterman said.

Smith, was convicted in 1983 for shooting Harvey Madman Jr. and Thomas Running Rabbit, while he was high on drugs and alcohol near East Glacier, Mont.

He had been taking 30 to 40 hits of LSD and consuming between 12 and 18 beers a day at the time of the murders. He refused a plea deal that would have seen him avoid death row and spend the rest of his life in prison. Three weeks later, he pleaded guilty. He asked for and was given a death sentence.

Smith later had a change of heart and has had a number of execution dates set and overturned.

Canadian on death row ‘horrendously sorry’ but victims’ families show no mercy

may 2 2012, source : http://www.globalnews.ca

watch the court’s video : click here

DEER LODGE, Montana – A Canadian on death row in Montana for killing two men said he is “horrendously sorry” Wednesday, but the passage of time appeared only to have steeled the resolve of the victims’ families to show him no mercy.

A visibly angry Thomas Running Rabbit, son of one of the victims, said he would seek justice for the father he never knew until “Ronald Smith’s last breath.”

“The decisions he made he has to pay for,” Running Rabbit told Smith’s clemency hearing. “He had no mercy for my father – a person I have never met.”

He then pointed at Smith and said: “I’m Thomas Running Rabbit. I do not fear you.”

A cousin, Camille Wells, called Smith “an animal.”

“He is the scum of the earth and I will hate him until the day I die.”

And an uncle told the Montana Board of Pardons and Parole that 30 years was too long to wait for justice. William Talks About said the victims’ mothers never got to see justice done before they died.

“Ronald Smith needs to be executed,” said Talks About. “Thirty years is too long.”

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 is to give its recommendation the week of May 21. Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer will have the final say.

Originally from Red Deer, Alta., Smith was 24 and had been taking LSD and drinking when he and Rodney Munro marched the two men into the woods where Munro stabbed one of them and Smith shot them both in the head.

Munro accepted a plea deal, was eventually transferred to a Canadian prison and has completed his sentence.

It was a cold-blooded crime. They wanted to steal the men’s car, but Smith also said at the time he wanted to know what it was like to kill someone.

Talks About said both victims were much loved by their families. They searched for them for a month after they disappeared.

“Up and down both sides of the highway,” he said. “This is how much we loved our boys. This is how much we cared for them.”

Earlier during the hearing, Smith faced the families and said he didn’t expect them to forgive him, but hoped to be given the chance to get on with his life.

“I do understand the pain and suffering I’ve put you through,” he said. “It was never my intent to cause any suffering for anybody. I wish there was some way I could take it back. I can’t.

“All I can do is hope to move forward with my life and become a better person.”

Smith broke down and cried when his sister, Rita Duncan, read a letter he had written to their mother after her death last year.

Smith covered his eyes, brushed away tears and was patted on the shoulder by his lawyer.

Duncan said although she shut Smith out of her life for years, he has always loved her and she is proud to be his sister.

“I honestly do not know what I would do without my brother by my side. I can’t bear the thought of losing another brother and I’m sorry if this sounds selfish. I don’t know what I would do without him,” said Duncan, her voice quavering.

She asked people in the packed courtroom to put themselves in her place.

“Wouldn’t you want grace and mercy to be shown to him when he’s done everything in his power to change himself and become the man he is today?” she asked.

“Mercy is not about getting something that we deserve. Grace is getting something that we do not deserve, so today I am here pleading for both mercy and grace for my brother Ron.”

Smith was long thought to be the only Canadian facing execution in the United States, but a Canadian connection recently emerged in another case.

Court documents say Robert Bolden, currently on death row for murdering a bank security guard in Missouri, has Canadian citizenship. He was born to a Canadian woman in Newfoundland where his father was stationed with the U.S. air force. The family moved back to the U.S. when Bolden was a young child.

Smith’s daughter, Carmen Blackburn, also spoke at the hearing. She said she didn’t know the man her father was in 1982, but she knows who he has become.

“This situation is not easy on anybody involved, but I can only hope that everyone can look into their hearts and listen to the real facts about my dad, because I truly don’t know what I would do without him in my life,” she said, crying as she spoke.

“I’ve seen a man who has many regrets about the things that he has done. He shows his remorse in his eyes and in his voice and every time we talk. I wish I could take away that pain.”

A psychologist told the hearing that Smith is a model prisoner and poses little threat to the people around him. Dr. Bowman Smelko said Smith has shown improvement during his time in prison and his cognitive ability has jumped 16 points from low to high average.

“He was not exposed to drugs and alcohol. He was not exposed to chaos. He has demonstrated significant change in attitude, thoughts and behaviour,” Smelko said.

The hearing also heard that Smith is well-liked by prison guards.

Joe Warner, who has now retired, was there the day Smith arrived at the prison 30 years ago. Over the years, he said, Smith showed him nothing but respect and he considers Smith a friend. Once a proponent of the death penalty, Warner said he now feels differently.

“I’ve kind of changed my mind,” said Warner, who added that getting to know Smith contributed to that.

Warner drew disapproving murmurs from the families of the victims when he said he would like to see Smith eligible for parole some day.

After decades of appeals, the clemency hearing is Smith’s last chance to make a case before the board as to why he should not be executed.

Smith’s lawyer Greg Jackson told the hearing that the bid for clemency isn’t meant to minimize the “terrible crime” that Smith is guilty of, but “is a request for mercy.”

Jackson said Smith is not the same man who killed the young men.

“He is a changed man,” said Jackson. “He has reformed his life. He has expressed deep remorse and deep regret.

“He has a life that is worth preserving.”

When the state asked if Smith had any comment to make about the testimony of the witnesses, he replied: “I wish there were words I could say that would help ease their pain. How do you apologize? Sorry just doesn’t cover it.

“My words of sorrow don’t mean anything to these people. I wish they did.”

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