Jerry McWee is scheduled to be executed for the murder of John Perry on April 16 — a sentence he might well not have been given under our current sentencing laws. He will be asking Gov. Mark Sanford for clemency.

At the time of Perry’s murder, Jerry McWee was 40 years old and had no prior criminal record. He had become disabled after an on-the-job injury, and met George Scott while working as a security guard at a local diner. McWee and Scott became roommates, and within a short time they also became co-defendants in two Aiken County homicides.

Despite equal responsibility for two murders, Jerry McWee and George Scott ended up in very different places. McWee was tried first. He apologized and expressed remorse for his actions. Numerous witnesses — friends, family, former employers — testified to McWee’s compassion and caring, and to innumerable acts of kindness. McWee received a death sentence.

George Scott was a career criminal with a lengthy criminal history. He testified against McWee, giving what amounted to some of the most inflammatory testimony concerning McWee’s involvement in the crimes. Scott denied having any kind of deal with the prosecution. Scott maintained he was testifying not to help himself, but to purge his soul.

Several years later while in prison, Scott recanted his statement about not having a deal, saying he was told he did not have to admit to having a deal with the prosecution because the agreement had not been in writing. As McWee and his attorneys had long suspected, but had no way to demonstrate at trial, Scott’s testimony was simply an act of self-preservation.

Jerry McWee’s bad luck did not end with having George Scott as a co-defendant turned state’s witness. McWee also had the misfortune of being tried in 1994, a time when state law forbade telling jurors the truth about parole eligibility.

For McWee, the parole issue was a big problem. His jury obsessed about the possibility of parole for “life” inmates. Five of his 12 jurors specifically asked about parole, but were told not to think about it. And, in a last-ditch effort to get the information, the jury sent the trial judge a note asking him how much time McWee would serve before becoming eligible for parole if he got life. The judge refused to answer the question, and a few hours later the jury returned with a death verdict.

(Had McWee received a life sentence for Perry’s murder, he would have been eligible for parole at the age of 71, after service of 30 years. However, because he later pled guilty to the second homicide — in which Scott was the trigger man — he was destined to serve a minimum of life without parole because state law forbid parole for inmates convicted of two separate violent crimes.)

In June 2002, information surfaced that illustrates the unfairness in denying jurors truthful information. A juror on McWee’s case admitted to misinforming another juror to change his vote from life to death based on the (nonexistent) possibility that McWee could get parole in 15 years.

Thanks to a truth-in-sentencing bill sponsored by Rep. Greg Deleney, jurors asked to make a life-or-death decision are now told the truth about parole eligibility. Had this law been around in 1994, McWee might well be serving a life without parole sentence.

For the past 10 years, Jerry McWee has resided on South Carolina’s death row, and he has an excellent prison record. He has had only one minor disciplinary action based on the fact that his family gave him more than $25, for things such as shampoo and toothpaste. Excess money constituted “contraband,” and McWee was cited for this offense.

The reasons for granting clemency vary widely, but as recently as January, Georgia death row inmate Willie James Hall was spared by clemency. As in McWee’s case, Hall’s jurors were denied truthful information during their sentencing deliberations. Also like McWee, Hall had no prior criminal record, and had demonstrated excellent behavior in prison.

Clemency is an act of grace and mercy. It is an executive function, and only Gov. Sanford may grant it. If Jerry McWee gets clemency, he will never be released from prison. I submit that this is a good example of a case when clemency should be granted.

Ms. Kimbrough, an attorney in private practice, has represented Mr. McWee for seven years.