Stay of Execution

I cannot judge the legal reasons for the Governor's stay of execution, but it's safe to say that something is wrong with the law if we cannot execute a legally convicted, legally condemned, and obviously guilty prisoner because of an uncertainty regarding how many lethal drugs are to be used.  As I understand it, the three-drug method has been devised to guarantee that the procedure is painless.  If that is inconsistent with state law then we obviously ought either to update the law or do away with capital punishment altogether.  If I were (God forbid) a member of the state legislature, I would probably vote for the latter.  I would do so largely because these kind of legal tangles are almost unavoidable under current Supreme Court jurisprudence. 

I do not hold with those who regard the death penalty as unjust in itself.  Consider this description of Elijah Page's crime, from the American News. 

The crime: After planning to steal items from Poage's house, Page, Piper and Hoadley killed Poage so there wasn't a witness to the theft, according to court testimony.

The trio took Poage to Higgins Gulch west of Spearfish, and as he begged for his life, made him remove most of his clothing and forced him into the snow and an icy creek.

Piper stabbed Poage three times in the head and neck, and Page kicked Poage 30 to 40 times in the head, tearing his ears off. The attackers then dropped large rocks on Poage's head.

The torture lasted two to three hours.

I just don't think that a painless death is an unjust penalty for this kind of evil. 

I also have a problem with the fact that the will of the people of South Dakota, and their representatives in the legislature and on the juries, is being frustrated here.  This is itself a form of contempt for constitutional procedure and democracy. 

I have no doubt that the Governor is acting in good faith, and that he had good reasons to issue the stay.  But that just shows what a mess this business has become.  I am sympathetic to my colleague's call for mercy, recently endorsed by Mr. Heppler.  Mercy means precisely to choose not to do something that would be harsh but legal and just.  But if mercy it is to be, let it be done by the Governor for that reason, as the laws permit.