Free from prison, former Illinois governor creates group to fight death penalty
Freed from prison two years ago, former Illinois Gov. George Ryan insists his decision to halt executions in the state in 2000 was not part of an effort to divert attention from the federal corruption investigation that resulted in his conviction.
Ryan still wants to fight the death penalty, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Toward that end, he has formed a group called Abolition Now to oppose capital punishment nationwide.
“I always planned to fight the death penalty, and we just got tax-exemption approval from the state for Abolition Now, which will help create policy to end executions,” he told the Sun-Times. “We are now awaiting federal approval.”
Ryan says former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson is “on board,” along with Rob Warden, the former executive director of Northwestern University’s Center on Wrongful Convictions. Ryan and Thompson were both elected as Republicans.
Ryan says that, since his release, he has also been spending time with family and working on a book that is a “biography of sorts.”
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ABAJournal.com: “Law Prof Nominates Imprisoned Gov. for Nobel Peace Prize, Sees Message in No. 167”