The quality of mercy

Late Wednesday afternoon the Missouri Supreme Court postponed for at least 30 days the state's plans to administer the death penalty for the first time in almost three years. It was the correct decision. We say that not only because this editorial page long has opposed capital punishment in all circumstances, believing that it has no place in a civilized society. And in this particular case, the arguments against the ultimate punishment are particularly strong. Dennis J. Skillicorn, 49, was to have been executed at 12:01 a.m. next Wednesday even though he did not kill Richard Drummond, the crime for which he was convicted in Lafayette County in 1996. Skillicorn was half a mile away when his buddy, Allen Nicklasson, shot Mr. Drummond, 47, of Excelsior Springs. The jury knew that when it convicted Skillicorn as an accessory to... [read full story]