Ryan Deposition Reveals Motivations for Death Row Commutation

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 1, 2011 8:35PM

A 2010 deposition from former Gov. George Ryan is believed to be the first look into his thought process before his historic 2003 decision to commute the sentences of Illinois Death Row inmates.

The deposition was conducted in conjunction with a civil case brought about as a result of Ryan's decision. In the deposition, Ryan said that he spent hours reviewing some cases, while others he weighed in on in about 10 minutes. Ryan also spoke of meeting people after his decision, where they swore at him and threw things.

Ryan also indicated that Gov. Quinn needs to work on the backlog of clemency petitions currently on his desk. "Blagojevich didn’t do anything," he said.