UTMOST CARE

One of the most awesome powers given to a state in a democratic
society is the authority to take a human life. Because it is done in
the name of justice, this grave responsibility must be handled with
the utmost care.

For that reason, Death Row inmate Troy Dale Farris, scheduled to die
by lethal injection Wednesday night, should be granted a stay of
execution and have his case re-examined.

Farris was found guilty in 1984 of the December 1983 shooting death of
Tarrant County Sheriff's Deputy Clark Rosenbalm. As reported in this
newspaper on Sunday, the Farris case was bungled from the beginning:
The murder scene was trampled by investigating officers, much of the
evidence was lost or stolen, and at least one law enforcement official
removed marijuana from the dead deputy's pocket.

Although the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals concluded that the
circumstantial and forensic evidence offered at the trial "failed to
connect [Farris] to the killing," the court affirmed the conviction.

In a 1994 opinion on another case, the court admitted that it had
erred in Farris' case when it upheld a decision by the trial judge to
dismiss one of the jurors. Lawyers for Farris have now filed a
last-minute plea with the court asking for a stay of execution and to
have the death sentence overturned.

We have no way of knowing for sure whether Ferris committed this
crime. Regardless, defendants in this country deserve due process --
something we're not sure Farris received. He already has been on Death
Row for 13 years. What harm would it do to take another 30 days to be
as sure as possible that this man deserves our most severe punishment?