Dawn of a New Day
It would seem, however, that the eastern sky and the state’s troubled conscience had grown lighter 48 hours earlier, when then-Gov. George Ryan cleared out death row, saving the lives of 167 inmates who had come through the deeply-flawed Illinois capital punishment system. All but a few of these prisoners had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole; some objected. Illinois is a state where the governor has sweeping powers of clemency, and his decision is not subject to appeal or judicial review.