Ryan studies
Death Row cases
Chicago Sun-Times
March 3, 2002
BY MICHAEL SNEED AND DAVE NEWBART
STAFF REPORTERS
With only
10 months left in his term, Gov. Ryan has launched a review of the
cases of all 163 inmates on Death Row in Illinois to determine if
any should have their sentences commuted.
Ryan told the Chicago Sun-Times on Saturday that he requested the
files last week before heading to a conference on the death penalty
at the University of Oregon, where he spoke Friday night. Ryan said
he is now "absolutely reviewing'' the cases.
Under the Illinois Constitution, Ryan can grant a reprieve, pardon
or commute the sentences of any inmate. If he were to commute a sentence,
he likely only would be able to change it to life without parole or
another sentence applicable to the crime, according to legal experts.
At the conference Friday night, Ryan was introduced by Rennard Strickland,
dean of the University of Oregon Law School and a former dean of the
Southern Illinois University Law School.
CANDIDATES
FOR LESSER SENTENCES
Among inmates
sentenced to Death Row, some are clear candidates for having their
sentences commuted, death penalty opponents say. Among them:
Charles L. Silagy: Sentenced to death in Vermilion County for the
murders of his girlfriend and her sister in 1980. Silagy pleaded not
guilty by insanity, but a psychiatrist who examined him for the state
testified that he suffered only from an antisocial personality disorder
stemming from exposure to violence in Vietnam, where Silagy described
participating in atrocities. A later exam determined Silagy had not
served in Vietnam and suffered from organic brain damage brought on
by alcoholism. While his guilt is not in doubt, death penalty opponents
say the state should not execute someone with extensive mental health
problems.
Madison Hobley: Hobley was convicted in a 1987 South Side arson that
killed seven, including his wife and infant son. "The evidence
has been shown to have been absolutely flawed,'' said Rob Warden,
director of Northwestern's Center for Wrongful Convictions. Hobley
is one of the inmates often referred to as the "Jon Burge 10.''
Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge was fired in 1993 after investigators
found officers under his command physically abused suspects.
Leroy Orange: Orange was sentenced to die for the murders of his former
girlfriend, her son and two others. Police say he confessed, but he
says police suffocated him, used electric shock and beat him in 1984
to get the confession. He is another of the "Burge 10."
Henry Griffin: Griffin was sentenced to death for the 1984 contract
murder of drug runner Carl Gibson. Gibson was shot four times at close
range. But Warden says Griffin's conviction was largely on the basis
of a confidential informant who was a known liar.
Source: Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern Law School _________________________________________________________________
"If John F. Kennedy were alive today and writing a sequel to
Profiles in Courage, George Ryan's name would be in it," Strickland
said.
In his speech, Ryan traced his transformation from death penalty supporter
to ordering a moratorium on executions two years ago, and he called
executing an innocent person "the ultimate nightmare.'' Since
the death penalty was reinstated in 1977 in Illinois, 12 inmates have
been executed but 13 have been exonerated.
After Ryan's remarks, he was asked by a death penalty supporter why
he hadn't commuted the sentences of all Illinois Death Row inmates.
Ryan responded that he is looking into it.
"I believe there probably are some people we can commute,'' the
governor said, as reported by the Associated Press. "Believe
me, it's been a topic of discussion.''
After his appearance, Ryan received a standing ovation. Ryan told
the Sun-Times he plans to review the cases regardless of what a commission
he appointed to study the death penalty recommends. The report from
the Illinois Death Penalty Commission could be released as early as
this week, Ryan said.
The governor would not say, however, if there were any cases that
stood out as candidates for having their death sentences commuted.
Of the 163 people on Death Row, two-thirds are African American and
four are women, Ryan said. All were convicted of murder or multiple
murders.
Ryan did not give the criteria he would use to determine whether an
inmate deserved to have a sentence commuted.
But death penalty opponents said that in the past, inmates have had
sentences commuted when there were lingering doubts about the conviction
or when the death penalty was considered too harsh for the crime committed.
They said it was unlikely that commuting a sentence would necessarily
lead to a new trial or finding of innocence.
Opponents of the death penalty said Saturday they were encouraged
by Ryan's decision but wanted it to go further.
"I'm delighted the governor is moving in that direction,'' said
Rob Warden, director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions at the
Northwestern University Law School. "This is the first time he
has said anything publicly along those lines.''
But Warden agreed with other death penalty opponents in saying that
every inmate on Death Row should have their sentences commuted. None
of the inmates currently on Death Row had the benefits of reforms
that have been enacted in the last few years, they said. Nor will
they have the benefits of whatever reforms are put forth by the governor's
commission.
"I'm surprised that he says 'some' rather than 'all' or 'most,'"
said Aviva Futorian, a board member of the Illinois Coalition to Abolish
the Death Penalty. "None of these 163 people had the benefit
of those reforms.'' Even one death penalty supporter said he welcomed
the review, but he used the opportunity to further criticize Ryan.
State Sen. Patrick O'Malley of Palos Park, a candidate in the Republican
primary for governor and a staunch death penalty supporter, said he
welcomed the review--something he said the governor should have done
earlier.
"I have made the commitment that as governor of the state, I
would review every case of every person on Death Row,'' said O'Malley,
who believes the moratorium is illegal. "He is long overdue in
stepping up to the plate.''
But Ryan said he was undeterred by the political reaction to his decision
to do the review with less than a year left in his term.
"If I cared about the political ramifications, I wouldn't have
done it in the first place,'' he said. "I did what I thought
was right, and that's what is important.''
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