On This Day: Gov. George Ryan Clears Illinois Death Row

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On This Day: Gov. George Ryan Clears Illinois Death Row
Sun Jan 11, 2009 1:29PM
78.34.19.42


On This Day: Gov. George Ryan Clears Illinois Death Row
January 11, 2009 06:00 AM
by findingDulcinea Staff

On Jan. 11, 2003, Ill. Gov. George Ryan announced that he was
commuting the sentences of 167 death row prisoners due to “the demon
of error” in the capital punishment system.
Gov. Ryan Commutes Death Sentences

The Republican governor’s decision was prompted by numerous cases of
Illinois death row inmates being exonerated. Reports of widespread
prosecutorial misconduct were published in a five-piece series in the
Chicago Tribune, which also featured a number of anti-death penalty
editorials by writer Cornelia Grumman.

The death penalty controversy came to a head in 1999, when a group of
journalism students at Northwestern University uncovered evidence
indicating that inmate Anthony Porter—who had been just 50 hours from
execution before a stay was granted—was wrongly convicted.
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/On-this-Day--Illinois-Governor-Commutes-State-s-Death-Sentences.html