'A manifest injustice has occurred'

Clemency expected for other inmates Saturday

From Jeff Flock - CNN News

CHICAGO, Illinois (CNN) – Illinois Gov. George Ryan Friday pardoned
four inmates awaiting execution and is expected to commute the
sentences of others on death row Saturday.

"I believe these men are innocent or I wouldn't have pardoned them," Ryan said in a speech
at the DePaul University Law School. "The system has failed for all four men and it has failed
for all of the people of this state."

Ryan pardoned Aaron Patterson, Madison Hobley, Stanley Howard and Leroy Orange -- men
who confessed under police torture and were convicted on the basis of those confessions.

"Now we can say the number of wrongly convicted men is not 13, but 17," the governor said.

"I believe a manifest injustice has occurred," the governor added.

Ryan, a Republican, halted executions in Illinois in January of 2000, expressing concern that
there may be innocent people on death row. That move came after 13 inmates on Illinois' death
row were set free because they were determined to have been wrongly convicted.

Ryan has another speech scheduled for Saturday at Northwestern University Law School, which,
along with journalism students from the university, has been at the center of the fight to free
wrongfully convicted death row inmates.

The governor, who leaves office Monday after declining to seek re-election, told CNN he has been
reviewing the cases of all 160 inmates on the state's death row, including those who have not sought
clemency, and has not yet decided how many sentences he may reduce to life without parole.

"I have not settled on a number," he said. "When I leave here, I am going back to work on the list."

Ryan: 'There isn't any doubt'

Friday's pardons mean the four men will be released from prison, although it is unclear exactly when.
All but Howard, who was convicted of a separate crime, were expected to be released Friday.

"My power to grant these pardons is constitutionally provided," Ryan said. "There isn't any doubt in my
mind these four men were wrongfully prosecuted, and wrongfully sentenced to die."

Patterson and Hobley are now on death row at the Illinois State Correctional Center at Pontiac. Howard
is at a state prison in Menard and Orange is at Cook County Jail in Chicago.

Orange is in jail rather than prison because of a succession of court dates.

"Three years ago, I described it as a shameful scorecard, and that's what it is -- truly shameful; so I did
the only thing I could do, I put on a moratorium," Ryan said. "A lot of people called that courageous. ...
It wasn't courageous, it was just the right thing to do."

According to The Associated Press, Hobley's sister, Robin, burst into tears Friday morning as she read
an advance copy of the speech handed out by the governor's aides while she and other guests waited for
him to arrive at DePaul.

"I've read so many horrible transcripts in the last 15 years, I can't believe what I'm reading," she said.
"I'm speechless right now."

Ollie Dodds, whose 34-year-old daughter, Johnnie Dodds, died in an apartment fire that Hobley was
convicted of setting, said she was saddened by Ryan's decision.

"I don't know how he could do it. It's a hurting thing to hear him say something like that," she told the AP,
adding that she still believes Hobley is responsible. "He doesn't deserve to be out there."

Four inmates were tortured, governor says

The four pardoned men are part of the so-called "Burge 10" death row inmates who say they had
confessions tortured out of them by police under the direction of Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge.
He was fired after internal police investigators found systemic evidence of physical abuse of suspects.

The four men "were tortured," the governor said. "There isn't any question about that."

He discussed their cases in his speech.

• Police said Patterson, 38, confessed to the April 1986 stabbing of an elderly couple in Chicago.
Patterson never signed the confession and during his interrogation scrawled, "I lie about murders,
police threaten me with violence," into a bench with a paper clip.

• Hobley, 42, was convicted of killing seven people in an arson fire in 1987. Private investigators later
developed evidence that a metal gas can found at the scene used to connect Hobley to the arson was
planted. He long contended he was a torture victim, too.

• Orange, 52, was sentenced to die for taking part in the stabbing of his former girlfriend, her 10-year-old
son and two others. The conviction came despite Orange's description of torture and testimony that his
half brother, Leonard Kidd, was the one who stabbed the victims. Kidd, also on death row, claims he
too was tortured into confessing.

• Howard, 40, was convicted in a 1987 murder and also contended he had been tortured.

They "four men did not know each other," Ryan said, "all getting beaten and tortured and convicted on
the same basis of the confessions that they allegedly provided. They are perfect examples of what is
so terribly broken about our system."

Journalism students began drive to free men

Ryan ordered a moratorium on executions in his state after 13 death row inmates were exonerated.

He then appointed a panel to examine capital punishment, saying he wanted to give Illinois citizens
complete confidence that a defendant's guilt was fully established before he was put to death for a
crime. The panel concluded last year that the state had applied the punishment too often since it
was re-established in the state in 1977.

Ryan's speech at Northwestern will be particularly poignant.

It was a group of journalism students at that university that began looking into the capital punishment
case of Anthony Porter in the late 1990s. The students, working with their professor and a private
investigator, found that another witness was pressured by police to testify against Porter. The students
then interviewed another man, who confessed on videotape to the double murder that sent Porter to death row.

Porter -- who had once come within two days of execution and was spared only because the court
wanted to examine his mental competency -- was released in February 1999. He had spent 17 years
on death row.

The governor then vowed he would do whatever it takes to "prevent another Anthony Porter."

It remains to be seen whether Ryan will be remembered more for his stand against capital punishment
or for a corruption scandal that shattered his career and crippled the state Republican Party he once led.

A criminal trial is expected to get under way next week on federal prosecutor's allegations that Ryan's
former chief aide and his campaign committee illegally diverted state resources for campaign purposes.
A number of Ryan's close advisers have been indicted, and federal prosecutors have alleged the governor
knew of attempts to conceal potential wrongdoing from investigators.

Ryan has not been charged.

---

Illinois governor pardons 4 death-row inmates
Last Updated Fri Jan 10 15:03:19 2003 - CBC.ca

CHICAGO-- Illinois Governor George Ryan is pardoning four inmates of death row because he
believes they were wrongfully convicted after being tortured by Chicago police.

Ryan leaves office on Monday, but in a speech on Friday at DePaul University he pardoned
convicted killers Madison Hobley, Stanley Howard, Aaron Patterson and Leroy Orange.

"I have reviewed these cases and I believe a manifest injustice has occurred," Ryan said.
"I have reviewed these cases and I believe these men are innocent."

Three of the four men were expected to be released Friday. The fourth, Howard, will remain
behind bars because he was convicted of another crime.

And the governor may have more to say on Saturday. He's expected to commute the death
sentences of all 160 people on death row in Illinois to terms of life in prison.

Ryan, who for years had been a staunch supporter of capital punishment, dramatically changed
his position in 2000 when he called for a moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois. This came
after 13 death-row inmates had been cleared of murder charges.

"Until I can be sure, with moral certainty, that no innocent man or woman is facing a lethal injection,
no one will meet that fate," Ryan said at the time he imposed the moratorium.

Among the four men Ryan pardoned:

Patterson said he was tortured into falsely confessing to murder after police threatened him with
a gun, beat him and tried to suffocate him in 1988;

Hobley, convicted of murder and aggravated arson in the deaths of seven people, claimed he falsely
confessed after police beat and tried to suffocate him;

Orange, convicted of the murder of his former girlfriend and her 10-year-old son, said he was tortured
into confessing;

Howard convicted of murder, rape and armed robbery, said he confessed after police handcuffed
him to a wall ring and choked him.

Written by CBC News Online

---

Ryan, whose term in office ends Monday, made the announcement in the text of a speech he was
delivering Friday afternoon.

Ryan said he was pardoning Madison Hobley, Stanley Howard, Aaron Patterson and Leroy Orange.

``We have evidence from four men, who did not know each other, all getting beaten and tortured and
convicted on the basis of the confessions they allegedly provide,'' Ryan said. ``They are perfect
examples of what is so terribly broken about our system. ...

``I believe a manifest injustice has occurred.''

Ryan's speech at DePaul University was the first of two that cap the Republican governor's three-year
campaign to highlight flaws in the state's capital punishment system.

In his remarks, Ryan said he has finished reviewing the clemency petitions of about 140 other death
row inmates and would make his announcement on their cases Saturday, when he is scheduled to
make a speech at Northwestern University law school.

All but Howard, who was convicted of a separate crime, were expected to be released Friday, Ryan said.

Hobley's sister, Robin, burst into tears Friday morning as she read an advance copy of the speech handed
out by the governor's aides as she and other guests waited for him to arrive at DePaul.

``I've read so many horrible transcripts in the last 15 years, I can't believe what I'm reading,'' she said.
``I'm speechless right now.''

Ollie Dodds, whose 34-year-old daughter, Johnnie Dodds, died in an apartment fire that Hobley was
convicted of setting, said she was saddened by Ryan's decision.

``I don't know how he could do it. It's a hurting thing to hear him say something like that,'' she said,
adding that she still believes Hobley is responsible.

``He doesn't deserve to be out there.''

DePaul is home to an anti-death penalty center founded by Andrea Lyon, a lawyer who represents Hobley.
Northwestern University has also been active in the attack on the state's capital punishment system,
and Northwestern journalism students have conducted investigations that freed several inmates.

Ryan declared a moratorium on capital punishment after 13 men were freed from Illinois' death row
because new evidence exonerated them or there were flaws in the way they were convicted.

The most recent precedent for a blanket clemency came 16 years ago when the governor of New Mexico
commuted the death sentences of the state's five death row inmates.

Patterson claims he was tortured into falsely confessing to murder after police threatened him with a gun,
beat him and tried to suffocate him in 1986. He previously turned down a deal to admit guilt and drop his
claim of police torture in exchange for freedom.

Hobley was convicted of murder and aggravated arson in the deaths of seven people, including his wife and
infant son. He contended he made a false confession after he was beaten and nearly suffocated.

Orange was sentenced to die for taking part in the stabbing of his former girlfriend, her 10-year-old son and
two others. The conviction came despite Orange's description of torture and testimony that his half brother,
Leonard Kidd, was the one who stabbed the victims. Kidd, also on death row, claims he too was tortured
into confessing.

Howard was convicted of murder, armed robbery and rape, among other crimes. He claims he is innocent
of the crimes, but said he confessed after he was handcuffed to a wall ring, beaten and choked by police in
November 1984.

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Illinois Governnor to Pardon 4 Death Row Inmates
VOA News - 10 Jan 2003, 07:59 UTC   Some information for this report provided by AP.

Outgoing Illinois Governor George Ryan is expected to pardon at least four death row inmates Friday, and is considering whether to commute many or all of the remaining death sentences to life in prison.

Officials say Mr. Ryan will pardon four inmates who claimed they were beaten into making false confessions by police.

Mr. Ryan is also expected to announce before he leaves office on Monday whether he will grant clemency to any or all of the state's death row inmates.

Mr. Ryan declared a moratorium on executions in Illinois in 2000, after 13 death-row inmates were exonerated. He has said the state's death penalty system needs to be reformed.

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Outgoing Illinois Governor George Ryan to
Pardon Four Death Row Inmates, Source Says