Clemency for Jerry McWee

To: The Governor of South Carolina

The Honorable Governor of South Carolina, Mark Sanford

We, the undersigned, wish to express our deepest concern and opposition regarding the upcoming execution, by the State of South Carolina, of Mr. Jerry McWee which is scheduled for Friday April 16th 2004. Moreover, we respectfully request that Governor Sanford grant Mr. McWee clemency by commuting his sentence of death to that of life imprisonment by virtue of those powers granted the executive by article IV, subsection 14 of the Constitution of the State of South Carolina. Our primary objection with the imposition of the death penalty in the case of Mr. McWee is the injudicious and flawed manner in which the trial jury reached their verdict and, thereby, sentenced Mr. McWee to death.

Mr. McWee was convicted in 1994 for the murder of Mr. John Perry. First, and foremost, we express our deepest sympathies to Mr. Perrys family who have suffered such a tragic loss.

Mr. McWee had the misfortune to being tried in 1994, a time when state law forbade the judge from providing jurors with instructions on parole eligibility. At that time, there were only two sentencing options available to the jury who tried McWee: the death penalty or life in prison with the possibility of parole after thirty years time served. If Mr. McWee had been given a life sentence, he would not have been eligible for parole until after his seventy-first birthday. Without this information at their disposal, the jury, when reaching their verdict, were forced to rely on an untruth supplied by a juror who wrongfully stated that if they were to opt for life imprisonment, Mr. McWee would be released after only a mere fifteen years of his sentence. Parole eligibility was the primary concern for Mc.Wees jury. Consequentially, the jury elected to sentence Mr. McWee to death.

Today, thanks to a recently passed Truth in Sentencing Bill, jurors asked to make a life or death decision must be made fully aware of the facts regarding parole eligibility. This bill was passed for the very purpose of avoiding such flawed jury verdicts as the one laid down in McWee. If tried today, it is likely that jury may have reached an altogether different verdict and Mr. McWee would now be serving life in prison rather than facing his execution.

It should also be noted that, despite being equally responsible for their crimes, whilst Mr. McWee received the death penalty, his co-defendant, Mr. George Scott, was merely handed down a life sentence. Mr. McWee, a former police officer, had no prior criminal record and has consistently expressed the utmost remorse for his actions. Conversely, Mr. Scott is a career criminal with a lengthy criminal record. The only reason for this gross disparity in sentencing lies in the fact that Mr. Scott struck a deal with the prosecution and testified against McWee in an act of utter self- preservation.