Ex-Governor, Now in Prison, Sees Case End

[SaltyDog]

By MONICA DAVEY
Published: May 28, 2008
CHICAGO — The United States Supreme Court announced Tuesday that it would not hear an appeal by former Gov. George Ryan of Illinois of his 2006 racketeering and fraud conviction.

The decision ended the judicial process for Mr. Ryan, and hours later his lawyer said he would probably seek a commutation from President Bush of what is left of his more-than-six-year federal prison sentence.

The lawyer, James R. Thompson (also a former Illinois governor), said any larger purpose in the conviction and sentence of Mr. Ryan, 74, had been served. “The man has gone from being the governor of the state of Illinois to being a prisoner in a federal penitentiary,” Mr. Thompson said, later adding: “His career is gone. His reputation is gone.”

Mr. Ryan, a Republican, was governor for one four-year term that ended in 2003 with a federal investigation looming. In 2006, he was convicted of corruption that federal prosecutors described as a “mutating virus” among politicians in Illinois. He was accused of putting taxpayers’ money toward campaign work, lying to federal agents and handing out contracts to friends in exchange for gifts for himself and his family. He went to prison last November.

Mr. Thompson said he was unsure whether the review of an application for executive clemency on Mr. Ryan’s behalf would be completed before President Bush’s term ended. Mr. Ryan was the Illinois campaign chairman for Mr. Bush’s campaign in 2000. Asked about their relationship now, Mr. Thompson said: “I have no idea. It will be irrelevant.”

A spokesman for the Department of Justice, which reviews clemency applications and sends recommendations to the president, said he could not comment on specific cases but noted that each one was evaluated on its own facts. He said the review process could take several years.

Mr. Ryan, best known nationally for declaring the capital punishment system in Illinois broken and commuting more than 160 death sentences to life in prison, is held in Terre Haute, Ind., where he does maintenance work as part of his regular duties.

Don't know how this one got past me. Thought this guy was a crook when he took all inmates off death row back in the late '90s.