Virginia Governor Mark Warner commuted the death sentence of Robin Lovitt to life in prison without parole, yesterday afternoon.  Lovitt had been sentenced to death for a stabbing that occurred in 1998.  DNA tests at that time were inconclusive and a court clerk destroyed the DNA evidence that had been collected, which by state law ought to have been retained until the entire appeals process was exhausted.  Lovitt’s attorneys contended that more advanced tests recently developed could have proved his innocence.

The governor’s full statement is below, but the chief point is this:

However, in this case, the actions of an agent of the Commonwealth, in a manner contrary to the express direction of the law, comes at the expense of a defendant facing society’s most severe and final sanction. The Commonwealth must ensure that every time this ultimate sanction is carried out, it is done fairly.

As reported in the Washington Post, the victim’s mother Mary Dicks has spoken out against the decision.

“I don’t think it’s right,” Dicks said. “I don’t know what they want jurors for if the jury votes for death and they give him life in prison. He killed Clayton, and Clayton was a hardworking person.”

Also reported in the Post’s article, at least one prominent Virginia Republican, former attorney general Mark Earley, had asked Warner to grant clemency.

Talking heads in the Post article, some guy on Dailykos, and I’m sure others elsewhere are speculating that political considerations and an impending run for president were the overriding considerations for Governor Warner in making this decision.

To that, I can only say, if it takes a run for president to get a government official to do the right thing, then we should require them all to run for president.

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Governor Warner’s statement:

    “Mr. Lovitt was convicted by a jury in 1999 of robbery and the capital murder of Clayton Dicks. The death sentence imposed on Mr. Lovitt has been reviewed and affirmed by several courts, including the Supreme Court of Virginia, the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court. In reviewing this clemency request, I found no fault with the judgment of the jury, or with prosecutors and defense counsel, and I am acutely aware of the tragic loss experienced by the Dicks family.

    “I believe clemency should only be exercised in the most extraordinary circumstances. Among these are circumstances in which the normal and honored processes of our judicial system do not provide adequate relief – circumstances that, in fact, require executive intervention to reaffirm public confidence in our justice system.

    “The Commonwealth is legally obligated to maintain physical evidence until a defendant has exhausted every legal post-trial remedy in the case. However, evidence in Mr. Lovitt’s trial was destroyed by a court employee before that process could be completed. I believe the courts have correctly ruled that the law requiring the maintenance of such evidence does not provide relief for a defendant in Mr. Lovitt’s circumstances. However, in this case, the actions of an agent of the Commonwealth, in a manner contrary to the express direction of the law, comes at the expense of a defendant facing society’s most severe and final sanction. The Commonwealth must ensure that every time this ultimate sanction is carried out, it is done fairly.

    “After a thorough review, it is my decision that Robin Lovitt should spend the rest of his life in prison with no eligibility for parole.”