Death Row Disappointment

(AP)  A state panel recommended clemency for fewer than 10 of more than 140 death row inmates who sought commutation of their sentences to life in prison, two sources close to the board said Tuesday.

"People who are seeking to clean up the system are going to be disappointed, very disappointed," one of the sources said.

Both sources spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. They would not say exactly how many prisoners were recommended for clemency in the confidential advice the board gave Gov. George Ryan.

The governor, who is considering clemency for all the state's 160 condemned inmates, has to make a decision by Jan. 13, his last day in office.

Ryan is not bound by the Prisoner Review Board's recommendation. He could grant clemency to all death inmates, or to specific inmates he chooses.

Ryan gained national prominence when he halted executions three years ago, calling the Illinois' death penalty system "fraught with error" after the courts found that 13 men on death row had been wrongly convicted since the state resumed capital punishment in 1977.

In October, the board held a series of emotional hearings on clemency petitions filed by more than 140 death row inmates. Ever since, Ryan has been lobbied intensely by both death penalty advocates and opponents.

Ryan's office could not be immediately reached for comment Tuesday night. Craig Findley, a board member who participated in the hearings and becomes board chairman Jan. 1, declined to discuss the board's recommendation.

"What's important here is not what the board recommends, but what the governor ultimately decides," he said.

The clemency hearings stretched over several days. Dozens of relatives of victims, some toting photographs of their loved ones, pleaded with the board not to recommend clemency.

Defense attorneys and others speaking on behalf of inmates countered that the capital punishment system in Illinois is so badly flawed that it cannot be trusted.


By Don Babwin