Board says no clemency for double killer
The Associated Press | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 12 years, 8 months AGO
HELENA — The Montana Parole Board is recommending that a Canadian man on death row be denied clemency.
Ronald A. Smith’s case now goes to Gov. Brian Schweitzer, who has the final say on the matter.
Smith is seeking life in prison without the possibility for parole — instead of the death sentence he now faces.
He asked for and received the death penalty at his 1983 trial for shooting two Blackfeet cousins. But Smith now says that was a mistake and argues he is a changed man who doesn’t deserve to die.
But Blackfeet tribal members and family of the victims argue the execution has been postponed for too long.
The parole board tells Schweitzer that justice is best served by rejecting the clemency request.
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