Hope For The Changed Man

The victim impact statement presented by Montana state attorneys emphasizes that Running Rabbit and Mad Man "were loved by countless family members and friends", and their absence has ensured that those who loved them "have suffered the pain and agony of their deaths for over a quarter of a century, a pain that never ends."

You might think that being incarcerated for three decades awaiting the final commission of one's sentence for murder in an American state that practices capital punishment, might represent a fitting enough sentence for murder.  The very fact that someone has lived for a considerable time with a death sentence hanging over their head might be seen as ample punishment for murder.

On the other hand, two young Montana men, Blackfoot Indian cousins Thomas Running Rabbit, 20, and Harvey Mad Man, 23, made a fatal error in judging themselves to be safe in their own geography, in their vehicle, offering a drive to two men who were hitch-hiking.  Perhaps it was not in their nature to be suspicious of two strangers whom they'd never before seen in the area. 

That generosity of spirit cost them their lives, when one of the hitch-hikers, a 24-year-old Albertan, Ronald Smith, murdered them in cold blood.  When apprehended, Smith admitted to having committed the murders.  And he asked for the death penalty which was handed down at his trial.  But he later changed his mind and began appealing for clemency. 

He characterized his crime as having been carried out through drug- and alcohol-fuelled "foolishness".  If it is merely foolish to take the lives of other human beings, then he was abominably, horribly foolish.  And now that he is close to having the sentence carried out, his clemency appeal launched by his human rights lawyer cites the "tremendous growth and rehabilitation" and the "exemplary behaviour" he has demonstrated.

Not to mention "the remorse and repentance" he has exhibited.  "He's a changed man", claim his lawyers.  He would be, of course, fully committed now to saving his life from the final punishment that completes his sentence.  Nothing quite fixes the mind like focusing on imminent death.  And nothing could more stringently impel someone to feel huge regret for having committed such a crime, given the punishment.

"We have no desire to open the debate on capital punishment here in Canada - and likewise, we have no desire to participate in the debate on capital punishment in the United States.  The reality of this particular case is that were we to intervene, it would very quickly become a question of whether we are prepared to repatriate a double-murderer to Canada.  In light of this government's strong initiatives on tackling violent crime, I think that would send the wrong signal to the Canadian population", commented Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

A Federal Court ruling, however, took the matter out of the hands of Cabinet.  Leading to a letter addressed to Montana officials seeking clemency for the condemned murderer, signed off by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.  The letter stressing the Government of Canada "does not sympathize with violent crime", but it must, under the circumstances, seek clemency for Smith "on humanitarian grounds".

Ironically, Mr. Smith held out hope that he might sidestep the death penalty when a bill to abolish the death penalty in Montana, passed by the State Senate.  That hope was dashed when the bill was defeated ten to 8 by a committee of the state's House of Representatives, in March of 2009.  And in October 2010 the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Mr. Smith's death sentence appeal.

He can now base his hopes on the Montana parole board, when a three-member panel will make a recommendation to Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer.