Governor, on ‘Oprah,’ Discusses Clemency
Former Gov. George Ryan went on Oprah Winfrey’s show to defend his grant of clemency to all 167 inmates on Illinois’ death row, while several members of the state Prisoner Review Board said he misled them.
Ryan stressed during the TV appearance that the convicted killers would remain behind bars for the rest of their lives.
Meanwhile, three members of the review board, which gave Ryan confidential advice on each case, said they were misled into thinking he would not grant blanket clemency.
“We were given assurances by the staff he would be going by a case-by-case basis,” Jorge Montes said.
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