167 death sentences commuted

2003-01-12 08:35

Chicago - The governor of Illinois lifted the death sentences of 167 death row inmates on Saturday, in an "historic" blanket commutation which could have far-reaching implications for other US states, observers said.

Given the state's "shameful" track record of miscarriages of justice, and the possibility that more innocent people might be sitting on death row, Governor George Ryan said he felt he had no option but to commute the 167 sentences to life without the possibility of parole.

"Our capital system is haunted by the demon of error - error in determining guilt, and error in determining who among the guilty deserves to die. Because of all of these reasons today I am commuting the sentences of all death row inmates."

Illinois has exonerated 17 people since the state re-instated the death penalty in 1977 - more than any other US state except Florida.

Half of the 300 capital cases in the state have been reversed for a new trial or resentencing.

In one case, a man who was eventually cleared of two murders came within 48 hours of being put to death. Anthony Porter was freed after a group of enterprising journalism students working with a private eye tracked down the real killer, who subsequently confessed.

Four others, who were exonerated earlier this week, claimed - independently of each other - that they had been framed by police who tortured them into making false confessions.

Aaron Patterson, Madison Hobley, Stanley Howard and Leroy Orange served nearly 60 years behind bars before their names were cleared.

An independent prosecutor is investigating whether the police commander who oversaw the group of rogue cops who allegedly tortured the four black men and dozens of others between 1972 and 1986 should face criminal charges.

But it was the staggeringly inconsistent application of the death penalty throughout the state and the failure of Illinois lawmakers to act on proposed reforms that ultimately persuaded the outgoing governor that he must act, Ryan told an audience at Chicago's Northwestern University.

"The facts I have seen in reviewing each and every one of these cases raised questions not only about the innocence of people on death row, but about the fairness of the death penalty system as a whole."

The governor's historic vote of no confidence, which clears out this northern's state death row, was truly an eleventh-hour reprieve for the 167 inmates, coming just 48 hours before Ryan is due to leave office.

Although Ryan has become something of an accidental death penalty activist during his one term in office (as a lawmaker he voted to re-instate the death penalty) it seemed as if he would disappoint many in legal circles who were hoping for a blanket commutation.

At one point he seemed to lean in favour of a mass commutation, but later backed off after a harrowing nine days of public clemency hearings in October, during which the families of murder victims pleaded for the state to give them the "closure," of an execution.

But in his speech to Northwestern University law students and some high-profile legal activists Saturday, Ryan said his conscience would not let him duck what he felt to be his responsibility.

"If I did not take this action, I feared that there would be no comprehensive and thorough inquiry into the guilt of the individuals on death row or of the fairness of the sentences applied."

And while he insists he is not an abolitionist he noted that the United States is unique in the Western world in its use of capital punishment.

"We are partners in death with several third world countries. Even Russia has called a moratorium," he said.

In the last week former South African president Nelson Mandela and his compatriot Archbishop Desmond Tutu got in touch with Ryan to urge him to show compassion.

Ryan also spoke by phone to Mexican president Vincente Fox: three Mexicans were among those given a reprieve from the death chamber Saturday.

According to Mexican officials, the men's rights under the Vienna Convention were violated because they were not informed of their right to consular notification prior and during their trials. - Sapa-AFP

- SAPA