Jan. 8, 2003

Clemency announcement could come later this week

With less than a week to go as governor of Illinois, George Ryan has scheduled two speeches on the death penalty later this week and some political observers believe he will use the speeches to announce if he is granting clemency to death row inmates.

Governor Ryan is considering commuting the sentences of more than 140 death row inmates in the state to life in prison without parole because of concerns the death penalty system has flaws. Should Ryan not make an announcement this week, he has until Monday, his last day in office, to decide.

Ryan could grant a blanket clemency to all 160 death row inmates facing execution but he has said before that a blanket clemency is not likely.

Ryan will speak at noon Friday at DePaul University’s College of Law and at 1pm on Saturday at Northwestern University’s School of Law.