DEATH-PENALTY ISSUES HAUNT CARNAHAN

As every Missourian knows, Gov. Mel Carnahan responded favorably in January to the personal plea of Pope John Paul II for clemency in the death penalty case of triple murderer Darrell Mease. We bow to no one in our respect and admiration for the pontiff, a towering figure on the world stage whose leadership played a huge role in the collapse of the Soviet Union and its evil empire. We believe that future generations will refer to him as John Paul the Great. Still, it is likely that most Missourians disagree with both the decision made by our governor and the manner in which he made it.

First and most strikingly, there is the essential capriciousness or arbitrariness of such a decision in this particular case. Mease murdered three people in one family, including the paraplegic son in his wheelchair. Meese had received all the due process to which he was entitled and was scheduled to die in a few days. Then the pope shows up in St. Louis and begs the governor for a commutation of the sentence. And practically on the spot, this governor, a death-penalty supporter, grants the pontiff's request.

What of the dozens of other felons languishing on Missouri's death row? The lack of a once-in-a-century papal visit's coinciding with their fateful day will mean these sorry souls will face the executioner. Is this how we render justice in Missouri today?

Then there is the matter of the governor's substituting his capricious judgment for that of the prosecutor, judge and jury -- each a representative of all citizens -- in commuting the Mease sentence. When he was governor, John Ashcroft faced the same tough question. In his impressive little book, "Lessons From a Father to His Son," Ashcroft reasons that to do as Governor Carnahan did in the Mease case is to improperly substitute his own judgment for that of the duly constituted legal authorities. We agree.

Clemency in death penalty cases should be reserved for those cases where, subsequent to the conviction, new evidence turns up, creating real doubt. None such was present in the Mease case, and these are reasons why the governor's act of mercy, extended here to one who is unworthy of it, left a bad taste in many mouths.