Parents of lifer hope governor will hear plea

The ailing parents of a Canadian man who has spent three decades behind bars in Florida are hoping to make a case for his transfer to Canada directly to the state’s governor when he visits Toronto later this month.

In a letter to Gov. Rick Scott, Richard and Carol Davies request a brief meeting so they can ask him personally to sign off on allowing their son, William Russell (Russ) Davies, to serve out his sentence in Canada.

The governor is due to attend an economic conference in late October, where the Davies are hoping they, or a friend of theirs, will be able to catch his attention.

“We are appealing to you as aging parents who only want to see our son back home,” the Davies write in the letter obtained by The Canadian Press. “We respectfully request 10 minutes of your time when you are in Toronto to share our story and ask that his transfer back to Canada be approved by you and by the State of Florida.”

Russ Davies, 49, of Richmond Hill, Ont., was barely 18 years old in June 1986 when the self-admitted misfit and runaway was accused along with five others of gunning down an acquaintance in Tomoka State Park near Daytona Beach, Fla. Two years later, a jury convicted him of first-degree murder.

A Canadian Press investigation published last year revealed that Davies’ trial lasted about seven hours and has been condemned by some legal observers as a sham.