Reaction Of Sen. Patrick Leahy
To Gov. George Ryan’s Decision
To Commute The Sentences
Of Illinois’ Death Row Inmates
Sat., Jan. 11, 2003

“Illinois’ wrenching experience clearly shows that it is past time for debate and for action to reform the deeply flawed death penalty system.

“Commutations at the end of the judicial process are a symptom of the broken death penalty system, not a solution to it.  This process has been especially devastating to the families of the murder victims.  It is a tainted system that too often is fair to no one.

“Public safety is another casualty of this broken system, because for every wrongly convicted person behind bars there is a true murderer who may still be on the streets. 

“Given what we have seen in Illinois, where more death row inmates have been exonerated than executed, governors like George Ryan who take the time to look deeply into the system see its flaws and discover that the whole system is tainted, leaving them few options.                                      

“Some opponents of reform will argue that Illinois is a special case.  But in fact the only thing special about Illinois is that its governor took a hard look at the system.  This is far more than ‘an Illinois problem.’  The death penalty system is fundamentally flawed nationwide.  That is why we need national reforms to prevent the sort of terrible choices that governors now face.  The bipartisan Innocence Protection Act is a modest and practical package of reforms.  Last year  more than half the entire House of Representatives cosponsored it.  But the House Republican leadership would not allow even a committee vote on it, let alone a debate.  The Illinois cases are a wake-up call, telling Congress and the Administration that reforms are urgently needed.”

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[Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is chief Senate sponsor of the Innocence Protection Act, a package of death penalty reforms.  Leahy is the (outgoing) chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.]