America's history is only sprinkled with moments of greatness.  We very rarely witness them.  But whether one agrees or not with Governor George Ryan's decision to pardon four and commute the death sentences of 167 to life without parole (LWOP), it is perhaps the single most important development in the recent history of the abolitionist movement.
    History has a way of surprising us.  After all, who would ever have thought that the new Republican Governor of Illinois would be anything other than just one more "tough on crime" conservative. Paradoxically, Ryan emerged as a liberal Republican.  Webster's dictionary defines liberalism as "a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of man, and the autonomy of the individual and standing up for the protection of political and civil liberties."  Certainly, this is what George Ryan has done.   He stood up for these principles when few others would.  This is a man who has acted on his convictions and conscience, a man of great courage.  I personally rank him up there with the likes of Lincoln, Lyndon Johnson, Martin Luther King, and Nelson Mandela who have all advanced the cause of civil liberties and civil rights.
    Our history will tell what lasting effect Ryan's actions will have on the quest to abolish capital punishment in America.  Some victims and their families decry this act as betrayal in its highest form.  They object to all of those who are now getting life sentences because they are convinced that these prisoners are guilty of murder and are now escaping a just punishment.  One cannot dispute that many are guilty, but as recent history has shown, well over 100 death row prisoners have been set free because they were found to be innocent. Ryan studied the problem and the recommendations of a blue ribbon commission composed of some of the brightest and most experienced legal minds in Illinois.  He realized that there was plenty of guilt on death row, but he also recognized that many did not get a fair shake from the legal system.  There was also poverty, racism and a corrupt judicial system: all those beatings, false confessions, and poor lawyering contributing to the arbitrary and capricious, yet deliberate assignment of death as a penalty in Illinois.
    He also took notice of the fact that there had been 33 lawyers who were disbarred or suspended during this period.  Of the 85 specific recommendations to correct the death penalty in Illinois, none were approved by the state legislature.  In the end, Ryan saw mass commutation as the only solution when his time in office ran out.  No matter what he did, one side would be angry.  And for a Republican politician to take such an act against all odds, in my opinion, is one of the most courageous acts in a lifetime.
    Regretfully, people do not understand the reality of life sentences: better put, life without the possibility of parole. Victims lash out with indignation that they are being robbed of closure.  But as experience has proven, many discover that the mere act of execution is an empty promise.  I guess the only way to fully understand the punishment of LWOP is to experience prison.  I have spent 20 years on death row, waiting to die.  With certainty I can tell you that if I were offered the opportunity to trade my death sentence for LWOP, I would not do so.  To me, execution is preferable to slowly rotting to death.  Others may value their lives differently.  Modern prison is as hard as it gets.  There are few diversions and nothing to do.  You are fortunate if you have a TV and a radio these days. There are no hobbycrafts, no weights, no law libraries, no jobs and little of anything but grief and heartache. Services are nil and medical treatment almost nonexistent.  Everyday is a torturous struggle to survive.  To be condemned to spend every day of your natural life in such an environment of despair and boredom with no hope of a future is the harshest punishment one can inflict on another human being.  Can you envision yourself a senior citizen in prison with little medical treatment, only aspirin for your pain?  You suffer all the time in quiet without any caring or compassion.  People in the free world can not appreciate the loneliness and desolation of such a life.  This daily hopelessness makes execution a welcome choice.  If these victims realized the terrible punishment of LWOP, then maybe they would not be so upset at what Ryan has done.  A sentence of LWOP punishes the guilty and protects society, while allowing the innocent to potentially prove their innocence.  In a democracy, no minority, even those whose losses touch our hearts, should be entitled to speak for all of us.
    Abolitionists should not be lulled into becoming lax in their actions to oppose capital punishment.  Although disparaged by Ryan's action, prosecutors in Illinois loudly state that they will continue to prosecute as they always have.  One stated "I will not let one moment in time, which I don't believe was well reasoned and well thought out, to change a process and system that has worked."  What an amazing statement!  I hope prospective jurors will take notice of the mass commutations and pardons and this will cause them difficulties in believing that the death penalty is a just, fair, and reasonable option.   It can not be gauged at this time whether this momentous action taken by Ryan will have any effect on the remaining 37 states and the federal government who apply the death penalty. This could, after all, be just an aberration.
    There are strong conservative forces that resist change. Conservative judges are people who hold primitive views on a host of momentous questions such as the death penalty, affirmative action, privacy and abortion.  One only has to look at a recent statement by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.  A death row prisoner in Florida submitted a Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court, claiming it was"cruel and unusual" punishment that he has been made to suffer the tortures of death row for 28 years.  Most certs are denied without comment, however, this time Clarence Thomas chose to issue a scathing response.  He admonished the prisoner by telling him it would not have been cruel and unusual punishment if he, the prisoner would have simply submitted to the will of the State of Florida years ago and just taken his punishment of execution.  How does one counter such a statement!  This is the face of conservatism in America today.
    Abolition is a long and hard road with few victories. Therefore, such extraordinary actions as what Governor George Ryan has done will serve to rejuvenate and fuel us on in the struggle.  It may be a very long time before we experience such a bold and momentous event again.  But as we have seen, tremendously wonderful things can come from totally unexpected quarters.  Everyone is capable of teaching us the lesson of understanding, fairness and the desire to do the right thing under the harshest of circumstances and pressure. Governor George Ryan has displayed the mettle that greatness comes from.  We are all in his debt.

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