Hulett C. Smith, former governor of W.Va., dies at 93

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va.

Former West Virginia Gov. Hulett C. Smith, who signed bills in the 1960s that abolished the state’s death penalty and implemented its first strip mining laws, has died. He was 93.

Smith’s family announced Monday that the former governor died Sunday in Arizona, where he had moved to an assisted living facility last fall. Smith, a Democrat, first ran for governor in 1960, but failed to win his party’s nomination. He was elected four years later, at a time when governors were limited to a single term.

During his tenure as the state’s 27th governor, the Legislature enacted measures to control air and water pollution and to protect human rights.

When he signed the bill ending the state’s use of the death penalty, Smith noted West Virginia was the ninth state to do so and said it would prevent wrongful convictions leading to executions.

“All of this is part of a groundswell of public opinion favoring the abolishment of the death penalty, for the possibility of judicial error in such cases is a wrong that can never be righted, because it is almost always too late,” he said in prepared remarks for the March 1965 signing.

Another significant measure enacted during his term was the Modern Budget Amendment, which made the governor responsible for developing the state’s budget.

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin said Smith led West Virginia through some of its worst tragedies, including the collapse of the Silver Bridge in 1967 that killed 46 people and the deaths of 78 coal miners in the Farmington No. 9 mine explosion in 1968. Smith also was governor when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.

“Gov. Smith was a uniter, and I can only imagine how he would approach our political division today. I hope that his example helps all of us see the good in each other and work better together,” Manchin, D-W.Va., said in a statement.

Rep. Nick Rahall said the state and the nation have lost “a champion, a thinker and a doer, one who led a life of service to his fellow man.”

Rahall, D-W.Va., said Smith was a born leader who only followed one thing: the truth as he saw it.

“He was a true leader and a kind gentleman who left a positive mark on our state,” said Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Smith became a champion for better state government during some of the most turbulent times in the nation’s history.

“Gov. Smith enabled our state to take monumental steps forward during his time in office. Today, we remember the progress made under his leadership, and the man who led the way,” Tomblin said.

U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller said Smith was “a staunch advocate for the less fortunate.”