NEWS

Illinois governor to speak on death penalty moratorium, clemency hearings

CHAPEL HILL -- Illinois Gov. George H. Ryan, who has brought national attention to the death penalty issue with his declaration of a moratorium on executions in his state, will speak at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law Nov. 7.

The lecture, free to the public, will be held at 3 p.m. at the Van Hecke-Wettach Hall rotunda.

In January 2000, after 13 people sentenced to death row in Illinois were found to have been wrongfully convicted, Ryan declared a moratorium on executions and established a commission to comprehensively review the state’s system of capital punishment.

"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 has said.

In April 2002, the Commission on Capital Punishment delivered its final report to Ryan, a report that included more than 80 recommendations for change in the capital punishment system in Illinois. Clemency hearings for nearly every inmate on Illinois death row began Oct. 15, marking what some have described as the most sweeping review of capital punishment in U.S. history.

The decision to invite Ryan was made due to the central role the governor plays in the country’s ongoing debate about issues of innocence and the death penalty, said Richard Rosen, senior associate dean and faculty adviser for the School of Law’s Innocence Project.

"No person has had a larger impact on the public debate about the death penalty than Governor Ryan," said Rosen. "A conservative Republican and longtime supporter of the death penalty, Governor Ryan had many of his preconceptions on the issue shaken when he was faced by the realities of our system for imposing capital punishment.

"And today, as he prepares to leave office, he once again finds himself in the center of intense public debate on this issue. We are grateful to him for taking the time to come down to North Carolina to share his thoughts and insights with us at such a crucial time."

Parking for the event is available in the N.C. 54 visitor lot, located three blocks from the School of Law.

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School of Law contact: Audrey Ward, (919) 962-4125

News Services contact: Deb Saine, (919) 962-8415