By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – When the obituary of former Gov. George Ryan is written, two things will be mentioned at the top: his commutation of death sentences, effectively ending capital punishment in Illinois; and his conviction for a licenses-for-bribes scheme from when he was secretary of state.
Ryan says he was “a victim,” that his prison term was “an absolute waste of time,” and that he has a “clean conscience.”
His epiphany about the death penalty came when he and his wife met Anthony Porter, who spent fifteen years as an innocent man on Death Row: “And I said to my wife, ‘How does that happen in America?’”
Ryan’s written a book about that experience, “Until I Could Be Sure.” He signed copies in Springfield Tuesday.
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected].
