Former Illinois governor calls death penalty 'barbaric'
CHICAGO (AP) -- Former Gov. George Ryan said Monday that the
country should be "embarrassed by capital punishment," but he once again
stopped short of saying it should be abolished.
Ryan, speaking at a conference on violence at Chicago State University,
called the death penalty "barbaric" even when the inmate is clearly
guilty.
But after the speech, he said: "I still believe there may be a case for
the death penalty."
He said he wanted to see whether state lawmakers adopt any of the
reforms recommended by a commission he appointed to examine the death
penalty before he makes a statement on whether capital punishment should
be abolished.
Just before leaving office in January, Ryan granted clemency to every
inmate on Illinois' death row before he left office in January.
During his speech Monday, Ryan talked about his journey from a staunch
supporter of the death penalty to a man who had profound doubts. He told
the audience about his decision to declare a moratorium on executions more
than three years ago after 13 inmates on Illinois' death row were found to
have been wrongly convicted.
"I asked myself, 'Where is the justice in a system that can allow this
to happen?"' he said.
Ryan said the more he has examined capital punishment, the more he
favors sentencing those who might otherwise receive the death penalty to
life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Further, Ryan suggested that doing away with the death penalty might
benefit the families of victims because it would mean that they would not
have to endure the years and years of appeals filed by the killers of
their loved ones.
"Are we rewarding these killers by putting them to death?" said Ryan,
suggesting that life without parole might be the harsher sentence.
Copyright 2003 The
Associated Press.
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten, or redistributed.
.gif){kind=small}
.gif){kind=small}
