Governor defends decision to not pardon suspect

RALEIGH, N.C. – Gov. Mike Easley on Friday defended his decision not to pardon a rape suspect he put behind bars when he was a prosecutor two decades ago, rejecting the former inmate’s suggestion that he didn’t want to admit he made a mistake.

Earlier this week, Easley’s office said the governor had decided against granting a pardon to Sylvester Smith, 54, who was convicted in 1984 of the rape of two girls, ages 4 and 6.

A court ordered Smith released from prison in November. The victims recanted their earlier testimony and said their grandmother told them to say Smith was responsible for the abuse rather than their cousin.

Smith won a new trial and a prosecutor dismissed the charges.

Smith said Easley had a conflict of interest when considering the pardon because he prosecuted the case as district attorney in Brunswick County.

“I don’t think he’s man enough to say he made a mistake,” Smith said.

Easley said his decision is based on review of the 1984 trial transcript, the transcript of the November hearing and a recently completed inquiry by the State Bureau of Investigation. That inquiry said the girls’ mothers, interviewed in February, did not believe their daughters’ recantations.