Red Deer man on Montana death row to be executed Jan. 31

Ronald Smith is believed to be the only Canadian facing execution in the U.S.

Smith pleaded guilty to murdering two men on the side of a Montana highway in 1982. At the time, he asked the court to sentence him to death, but he has since changed his mind and has been fighting protracted legal battles for years. This fall he ran out of appeals, but a judge ordered a stay on his execution while court hears an American Civil Liberties Union suit filed on his behalf, which calls the death penalty unconstitutional. Despite that stay, yesterday a judge set a January 31 execution date for Smith. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that the government must intervene on Smith’s behalf, but critics say Ottawa’s efforts have been less than vigorous.