A politician with a conscience???
- Thread starter Adam
- Start date
Good news. Will be interesting to see if the other states do anything. So far, nary a peep. It'd be nice too if Illinois and others addressed all the people who haven't been able to get a DNA test to prove their innocence. The states drag their feet for years because they don't want to get sued for false imprisonment. Despicable.
This governor is leaving his office in disgrace because of serious financial improprieties he has (apparently) committed and he'll probably be in prison himself before long. I doubt it is "conscience" or "principle" motivating him.
This really makes me mad. The will of the people has once again thwarted.
This really makes me mad. The will of the people has once again thwarted.
Are you suggesting the will of the people is to execute the innocent? Innocent people were found on death row in Illinois. The governor would have been remiss in his duty as the highest judiciary in Illinois had he done nothing. If he personally benefits from doing his duty, so be it.
THIS IS BULLSHIT! So they found a few innocent people, well then that makes them ALL innocent. Our criminal justice system does indeed suck, but not for the reason mentioned above. And then people wonder why certain individuals take the law into their own hands.
Perhaps you didn’t read the article. Those inmates not pardoned (for being proven innocent beyond reasonable doubt, by activists) had their sentences commuted to life in prison. The governor did this because he had lost confidence in the Illinois justice system, and rightly so.
What better indication of suckiness is there than to take the life of an innocent person after holing them up in a windowless box for a decade rather than spend $100 on a DNA test?
Like the Illinois prosecutors did? Certainly they weren’t acting in the public’s best interest. Due in part to their blunders and cover ups there are many murderers at large in that state.
Illinois Governor eorge Ryan did the decent thing.
But it is very hard indeed to change your mind when the facts turn out to contradict your lifelong beliefs - almost no one is both brave and honest enough to do it. Governor Ryan, a capital punishment man for most of his career, might have found it much easier to survive those old corruption charges - they dated from before his election - if he had turned his back on the mounting evidence that Illinois was killing innocent men. As a governor, George W. Bush, too, was faced with overwhelming proof that the courts and prosecutors of his state were notoriously cruel, callous, careless and frequently wrong in the application of the death penalty. He dealt with the problem by signing every death warrant they put in front of him - man, woman or child. But Governor Ryan was surprised, shocked and then he looked into the matter. And then he made the hard choice that probably never even occurred to Bush as an option.
Lyndon Johnson's father once told him there were only three worthwhile things for a man to be: a teacher, a preacher, or a politician. Once in a while I can see what he meant.
Governor Ryan's complete death penalty speech is the opposite of eloquent. It is not learned. It is not subtly reasoned like the poisonous swill on the same subject that issues regularly from Antonin Scalia of Opus Dei and the U.S. Supreme Court. It is just plain, honest fare from a good man finding his way. Here is the full text of Governor Ryan’s speech - I hope you will take time for it.
:m: Peace.
In writing about Governor Ryan's struggles with the death penalty, it is usual to point out that it's easy for him to be brave. He has spent most of his term fighting off corruption charges, after all, and his political life is through.
But it is very hard indeed to change your mind when the facts turn out to contradict your lifelong beliefs - almost no one is both brave and honest enough to do it. Governor Ryan, a capital punishment man for most of his career, might have found it much easier to survive those old corruption charges - they dated from before his election - if he had turned his back on the mounting evidence that Illinois was killing innocent men. As a governor, George W. Bush, too, was faced with overwhelming proof that the courts and prosecutors of his state were notoriously cruel, callous, careless and frequently wrong in the application of the death penalty. He dealt with the problem by signing every death warrant they put in front of him - man, woman or child. But Governor Ryan was surprised, shocked and then he looked into the matter. And then he made the hard choice that probably never even occurred to Bush as an option.
Lyndon Johnson's father once told him there were only three worthwhile things for a man to be: a teacher, a preacher, or a politician. Once in a while I can see what he meant.
Governor Ryan's complete death penalty speech is the opposite of eloquent. It is not learned. It is not subtly reasoned like the poisonous swill on the same subject that issues regularly from Antonin Scalia of Opus Dei and the U.S. Supreme Court. It is just plain, honest fare from a good man finding his way. Here is the full text of Governor Ryan’s speech - I hope you will take time for it.
:m: Peace.
Was there no option of DNA testing all of the death penalty inmates where applicable? I can see why he did it, the system was obviously broken in that state and something had to be done. But I don't see why they couldn't just DNA test the rest of the inmates. Is it that expensive?
I am in favor of the death penalty, but I think there should be regulations in place to ensure due diligence is pursued to ensure innocent people are not killed. Mandatory DNA testing when applicable would be one of these.
I am in favor of the death penalty, but I think there should be regulations in place to ensure due diligence is pursued to ensure innocent people are not killed. Mandatory DNA testing when applicable would be one of these.
CounslerCoffee
Registered Senior Member
Im sure, that had this guy actually done research on each case, then he would of found that mostly all of them are guilty. This is not a step forward, it is a step back.
Im for the death penality if all you still is a candy bar. Would anybody steal candy bars anymore? No. They would be scared silly. Murder? Dead, the next day after your trial of course. Would there be anymore murders? No. It could work, and it is just a theory, but think that with a few deaths we could have perfect peace.
Im for the death penality if all you still is a candy bar. Would anybody steal candy bars anymore? No. They would be scared silly. Murder? Dead, the next day after your trial of course. Would there be anymore murders? No. It could work, and it is just a theory, but think that with a few deaths we could have perfect peace.
CounslerCoffee
Registered Senior Member
No. But someone should have.
It would if we did it fast, I mean like, you stole a candy bar, you had your trial, and then the next day your dead in the middle of the street. Rules have to be enforced, and people should be made to understand when they cross the line.
EL Presidente says:
Whomever commits a crime, no matter what the crime is, the punishment is death. I will destroy the wicked.
have you ever herd of due prosses?
to many times people have been found to be INOCENT latter
you wouldnt have herd of lindy chambeling but she was convicted of the murder of her son after stating that a dingo took him
the major evidance was a red substance found in her car
20 years latter it was found to be a spray the CAR MANIFACTORES use on new cars and NOT blood but if the death penelty existed she would be dead
ryan, the last man in victoria hung was exicuted for killing a prision guard in an escape and now they belive that the guard was killed by friendly fire from another bloody guard
to many times people have been found to be INOCENT latter
you wouldnt have herd of lindy chambeling but she was convicted of the murder of her son after stating that a dingo took him
the major evidance was a red substance found in her car
20 years latter it was found to be a spray the CAR MANIFACTORES use on new cars and NOT blood but if the death penelty existed she would be dead
ryan, the last man in victoria hung was exicuted for killing a prision guard in an escape and now they belive that the guard was killed by friendly fire from another bloody guard
CounslerCoffee
Registered Senior Member
Like I said, each case should have been examined carefully.
Agreed DNA testing should be mandatory when applicable. It isn’t expensive except to a state facing a false imprisonment lawsuit. In many of the Illinois cases there is no DNA evidence. So in some cases the evidence and testimony points to the inmate, but DNA proves the evidence and testimony is flawed. Given that, the governor recognizes the likelihood that some on death row are innocent but cannot hope to be cleared before they are executed.
No regulations thus far adopted in any state ensure due diligence in prosecution. We have an adversary justice system where the defendant is pitted against a well-honed machine. The police, detectives, and prosecutors will do anything legal to get a conviction, and the law allows blatant bias. You can read more at the Innocent Project.
The root problem I believe is this: The majority of the public wants revenge. They don’t care as much who is convicted or executed.
BTW, Governor Ryan’s speech linked to above is on the order of the Gettysburg Address.