Betty Dunn Smothers
East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore was joined by NFL star Warrick Dunn as he filed an injunction in state court to stop clemency hearings for death row inmates. Dunn, whose mother, Baton Rouge police corporal Betty Smothers was gunned down 30 years ago, says it’s not fair that her killer, Kevan Brumfield is still alive.
“He’s waking up every day, eating free meals, breathing, laughing. He can pick up the phone and call his family members, we can’t do that. It’s disrespectful,” said Dunn.
Dunn said while Brumfield has been fed and housed by taxpayers’ dollars for years, his family continues to mourn the loss of his mother.
“And what do we get? We get the governor thinking that because of his religious beliefs that they should be commuted. No, I don’t agree with that,” said Dunn.
After Governor John Bel Edwards publicly stated he opposed the death penalty, all but one inmate on death row filed for clemency. Dunn said commuting the sentences of these inmates is disrespectful to the victims’ families and in his case, law enforcement also.
“Now all these police officers here, if we don’t show justice to law enforcement anybody anywhere can do anything and don’t suffer any consequences, other than just spending life in prison? How is that fair?” Dunn asked.
Executive Director of the Louisiana Capital Appears Project, Cecelia Kappel said the lawsuit filed by Moore is another baseless attempt to block the Pardon Board and Governor Edwards from taking a close look at Louisiana’s broken death penalty system.
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