December 13, 2002

The Honorable Ronnie Musgrove
Governor, State of Mississippi
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 139
Jackson, MS 39205-0139

Dear Governor Musgrove:

As President and founder of the Justice Policy Institute, I urge you to commute the execution of Ronald Chris Foster, for whom the Attorney General of Mississippi has requested an execution date of January 8, 2003.

Please understand that I do appreciate the seriousness of the crime, and that my deepest sympathies go out to the Shelton family. However, as a professional who has worked with troubled youth for 20 years, I distinguish that young people are developmentally different than adults and therefore, more malleable and less culpable for their actions. To execute Ronald Foster - who was 17 at the time of his offense and whose cognitive development at that time was severely impaired - not only defies international and evolving national standards of justice, but also raises serious questions about Mississippi justice.

In spite of the fact that Ronald Foster had no prior criminal record, and that at sentencing, the jury never heard the extensive mitigating factors of Ronald's stunted cognitive, mental and emotional development (including two traumatic brain injuries and a destructive, alcoholic home environment), the Attorney General persisted in levying the ultimate sanction - death - against a one-time juvenile offender.

The Justice Policy Institute finds it particularly repugnant that the state of Mississippi rushes to execute Ronald Foster at a time when the Supreme Court has ruled the execution of mentally retarded individuals unconstitutional and only seven states have executed juvenile offenders since 1973. Of those seven states, two, Missouri and Texas, have recently considered legislation to abolish the juvenile death penalty. Indeed, in April, Indiana became the 28th state to make the execution of minors illegal, demonstrating that even among those states who maintain the juvenile death penalty, there is a growing recognition of the scientific, moral and legal reasons why the U.S. stands virtually alone in the world in levying this barbaric punishment. I urge you to halt Ronald Chris Foster's execution and grant him clemency from his death sentence.

Sincerely,

Vincent Schiraldi, President