Russ Feingold: “earlier today, Governor George Ryan of Illinois made an announcement that is absolutely unprecedented for a sitting…”

“earlier today, Governor George Ryan of Illinois made an announcement that is absolutely unprecedented for a sitting governor since the reinstatement of the modern death penalty almost 25 years ago. Governor Ryan plans to effectively block executions in Illinois by granting stays of all scheduled executions on a case-by-case basis until a State panel can examine whether Illinois is administering the death penalty fairly and justly. Governor Ryan is right to take this step, because real questions are being raised about whether innocent people are being condemned to die. Since the U.S. Supreme Court's 1976 Gregg decision finding the death penalty constitutional, Illinois has executed 12 people and and found 13 people on death row to be innocent. This is truly extraordinary. After condemning people to death, Illinois has actually found more death row inmates innocent than it has executed! Some of the innocent were exonerated based on a new DNA test of forensic evidence. Others successfully challenged their convictions based on inadequate representation by disbarred or suspended attorneys or a determination that crucial testimony of a jailhouse informant was unreliable. Illinois has exonerated 13 individuals but the numbers are sure to grow, as other cases continue to be investigated and appeals make their way through the courts.”