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| Court Backs Ill. Gov. on Death Row Commutations |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 02/02/2004 |
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In a ruling that could end the legal battle over former Gov. George Ryan's decision to clear death row, the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed Jan. 23 that Ryan had the power to commute the sentences of all 167 inmates awaiting execution. The court, without dissent, rejected Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan's argument that Ryan overstepped his authority in the case of 32 inmates who either had not asked for clemency or whose death sentence was not final. While criticizing the idea of granting blanket clemency, the seven justices said the Illinois Constitution gave Ryan essentially unfettered authority to handle pardons as he saw fit. Ryan said the decision reaffirmed the good advice from his advisers that his actions were constitutional. He insisted that he did review each case and said he has no regrets about the blanket clemency. Ryan reiterated state officials should continue to work on reforms to the criminal justice system and must eventually abolish the death penalty to ensure innocent people aren't put to death. Prosecutors who had challenged the commutations accepted the decision with disappointment, while advocates for death row inmates praised it as the start of a new era for the state's much maligned criminal justice system. "This puts an end at last to a very sorry chapter in Illinois criminal history, and now we can get about the business of trying to improve the system for the future,'' said Larry Marshall, a Northwestern University law professor who represented some of the inmates. Ryan commuted the death sentences of 167 inmates to life in prison and pardoned four others in January 2003. His action, coming three years after he halted all executions in Illinois, was prompted by fears that a flawed system had led to the wrongful convictions of 13 death row inmates and that others could unjustly receive the state's ultimate penalty. Madigan said she filed the lawsuit to resolve the legal questions surrounding Ryan's actions and was pleased the Supreme Court had provided an answer. The court said that although state law requires inmates to file petitions for clemency, the law was never intended to limit a governor's power. Ryan was free to act on his own, even for prisoners who had not asked for his help, it said. It also ruled that Ryan could act on cases where the death sentence was not final because of continuing appeals. Ryan essentially issued a "partial pardon" by ruling out the death penalty as an option in those cases, the court said. |
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