Illinois Gov. George Ryan took an unprecedented step in his crusade against the death penalty by commuting the sentences of more than 150 death-row inmates last week.
Originally an advocate of the death penalty, Ryan experienced a change of heart upon discovering 13 death-row inmates had been wrongfully convicted. He immediately put a freeze on executions in Illinois and ordered an exhaustive investigation of death row cases in the state. With his term as governor nearly run out — he leaves office today — Ryan concluded the study in his own way: by pardoning 167 inmates sentenced to death. He apologized to victims’ families in a letter, saying, “I am not prepared to take the risk that we may execute an innocent person.”
Activists against the death penalty are hailing Ryan’s actions as an example to other states and — in the long run — a jumping-off point to abolishing the death penalty altogether.
Death penalty advocates, on the other hand, see the mass pardoning as an abuse of the governor’s power. One prosecutor said in response to Ryan’s actions, “Yes, the system is broken. The governor broke it.”
And in a way, both sides are right.
People are sometimes convicted of crimes they did not commit — the 13 Illinois inmates are proof of that. The use of the death penalty, therefore, means that sometimes innocent people die. This is not a situation that should be condoned by anyone, and Gov. Ryan’s conversion in the face of an unjust system — and his subsequent actions to right the wrong — are both understandable and appropriate.
However, the governor’s most recent action against the death penalty goes too far.
The people of Illinois elected Ryan because they thought he would be the candidate most likely to carry out their wishes. And apparently, the people of Illinois wish for those who commit sufficiently heinous crimes to be executed — otherwise the death penalty would not be an option in that state. For Ryan to make such a sweeping move without any warning, mere days before he steps down as governor, is a betrayal of the public trust — no matter how noble his intentions may be.
Even if the death penalty is wrong, we live in a nation where the majority rules. By overruling that majority, Ryan has taken the law into his own hands for the “greater good” of the people. But the people can’t be told what is good — they have to be allowed to come to their own conclusions.
