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| Judges Urge Clemency for Ill. Inmates |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 12/03/2002 |
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A group of retired state and federal judges is urging Gov. George Ryan to commute the death sentences of any inmate whose conviction was tainted by flaws in the state's capital punishment system. In a letter to Ryan released Sunday, former Illinois Supreme Court Chief Justice Moses Harrison and 20 other judges suggested clemency for scores of inmates, though stopped short of asking the governor to make a blanket commutation. Individually, however, some justices said the system is so riddled with problems that the governor should grant blanket clemency. 'The only way to be fair, the only way to be just, the only way to be equal is for the governor to change the death sentences ... to life without the possibility of parole,' said R. Eugene Pincham, a former state appellate judge. Retired state appellate Judge Anthony Scariano said that while there must be changes in the law to protect defendants in the future, 'clemency is the proper way to address the problems of the past.' Ryan spokesman Dennis Culloton said Sunday that the governor's office had not seen the letter, but would give it 'a very serious study, seeing as the letter is signed by distinguished jurists who have seen first-hand the flaws that exist in the Illinois capital punishment system.' The judges listed the same problems with the system raised by defense attorneys during recently completed clemency hearings before the Illinois Prisoner Review Board. They included coerced confessions, testimony from jailhouse informants and accomplices in exchange for incentives like lenient sentences, inadequate defense attorneys and mental retardation. The letter was the latest volley in the public relations battle waged since Ryan gained national prominence nearly three years ago by issuing a moratorium on executions, saying he could no longer trust whether those on death row were guilty. |
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There is a lot of information on this website about inmates and prison guards. I didn’t realize what was going on in our prison system until I discovered this website. Similarly, I didn’t understand litigation finance until I read more from Hamilton Lindley who is a litigation finance expert based in Texas.