main page
"To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
|
click here for a bigger sunset
One small voice in the proud tradition of FreeBlogging*
Saturday, January 11, 2003
posted by gbarto at 1:51 PM:
Ryan Vacating Illinois Death RowBlanket pardon by outgoing governor will spare 156 inmates
A pretty bold move. As an opponent of the death penalty, though, I'm a bit bothered by this. Some are no doubt heralding Ryan for this act of moral conscience, and I lean toward doing the same. However, in my view, the problem isn't that there were people on death row. The problem is that laws were written to put them there, presumably in accordance with the will of the people of Illinois at the time. Understand: the purpose of the death penalty is to put people to death for certain crimes. The purpose of the pardon power is to make sure the wrong people aren't among those put to death. The pardon power is not intended to let the governor decide whether the death penalty laws will apply during his term or not.
From the Fox story:
Gov. George Ryan commuted the sentences of every inmate on Illinois' death row in an unprecedented action, saying the "demon of error" makes the state's death penalty process immoral.I'm inclined to agree with his reasoning. But George Ryan hasn't corrected the error. He's merely released 156 people from its consequence.
To understand where I'm coming from, consider this (also from the story):
Ryan's decision prompted an explosion of protest from prosecutors and incoming Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat, who called blanket clemency "a big mistake." Blagojevich said cases should be considered individually, adding "You're talking about people who've committed murder."George Ryan has not been, these past few years, a monk in some cloistered cell praying for guidance. He's been the governor of Illionois, a guy with the power to take a microphone and tell the people of Illinois why the law must be changed, a guy with the power to send legislators bills removing the death penalty from the sentencing options for different crimes, a guy who might have even had the clout to propose changing Illinois' constitution to ban the death penalty in the state.
Blagojevich said he doesn't intend to lift the moratorium on executions, but he also doesn't plan to intervene if courts impose death sentences in new cases.
If George Ryan is sincere in his actions - and I believe he is - he has only taken the first step. As a political actor, he should have been pressing to eliminate the death penalty by the political process ever since his change of conscience on the matter. That chance is gone, but he can still use his status as former governor to lobby fellow Republicans to consider his thinking, to send the message that maybe Republicans are more compassionate than Democrats like incoming governor Blagojevich, and to push the people of Illinois to push their legislators to remove this infamy from their judicial system.
We salute Governor Ryan for his act of conscience. We wish he'd had the nerve to take on this challenge more fully, more directly, more honestly, from within the sphere where he had - but lost - the opportunity to possibly effect real and lasting change.
* * *
French Elections, 1st round
Second round special page
Second Round Results Map
The TurkeyBlog main page contains only the 20 most recent entries.
To go further back, check the archive in the right hand bar.
