But Ryan's action also represents a public shift. While he is the first governor to take such a stand since the death penalty's resumption in 1977, cities as disparate as New Haven, Conn., and Mount Rainier, Md., among others, are on record as favoring a moratorium.

The New Hampshire primary also suggests a shift in public mood. In 1992, Bill Clinton felt compelled to leave New Hampshire long enough to be seen presiding over the execution of a severely brain-damaged and retarded prisoner. This year, Republican Gov. George W. Bush -- who boasts of presiding over more executions than any governor in history -- was overwhelmingly trounced in his primary bid in the same state.

There are other signs that our love for the death penalty is on the wane. Last year, the number of death sentences meted out was the fewest in six years. The number of commutations also rose to a six-year high in that period.

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He is referring to the scheduled execution of Thomas Thompson two weeks from now. The only thing that can prevent it is an official grant of clemency by Gov. Pete Wilson.

Thompson, a Vietnam-era veteran without a single prior felony conviction, has been on death row since 1981 for the rape and murder of Ginger Fleischli. He has steadfastly proclaimed his innocence.

Doubts about Thompson's guilt are heard not only in whispers from distressed guards but from other surprising voices as well. Seven former prosecutors filed a "friend of the court" petition seeking to overturn Thompson's death sentence on grounds of prosecutorial misconduct -- and Thompson's innocence. One of the prosecutors is the author of the law under which Thompson was condemned to death.

At Thompson's trial, prosecutors kept from his attorney evidence that the "special circumstance" necessary for him to be sentenced to death -- rape -- had not in fact occurred. A federal district judge ruled that Thompson's attorney was inadequate and reversed the death sentence. But the federal appeals court dismissed the errors in the trial court as "harmless" and reinstated the death sentence.

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