Do right by Ronald Smith

Outgoing Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has handed a hot potato to his successor, Steve Bullock, by leaving office without ruling on whether imprisoned Albertan Ronald Smith should be executed.

Bullock, who takes over on Monday, served during the Schweitzer administration as attorney general, and he views the death penalty as something to be used in “limited circumstances.” It should be easy for him to make the right decision and commute Smith’s sentence to life in prison. Smith is a Canadian citizen and Canada does not support capital punishment.

Smith, a native of Red Deer, was convicted of killing two Montana men, Harvey Mad Man and Thomas Running Rabbit, 30 years ago. Ottawa has made only a grudging effort to plead his case for com- mutation, and only because the Federal Court of Canada ordered Foreign Affairs to fight for Smith’s cause.

At issue in Montana, too, is whether lethal injection — the state’s chosen form of execution — is actually legal. Executions will necessarily be stalled until the matter is decided. However, the death penalty is barbaric and no country that calls itself a democracy should be executing its criminals.

We can sympathize with the grief experienced by the families of Smith’s victims. However, killing a third person will not restore the murdered men to their loved ones. Letting Smith spend his life in prison ensures that he fully lives with the consequences of his crime. The right thing for Bullock to do is to commute Smith’s sentence and let him end his life in prison.