Hundreds Await Pardon to Clear Their Records
Robert Gayol spent five years behind bars for a murder he didn’t commit. Then the real killers were caught, and Gayol was released to rebuild his life.
Two years later, he’s among hundreds of people in Illinois waiting for a pardon to officially clear his record and allow him to seek compensation from the state. “I don’t think it should be on my record,” said Gayol of Chicago. “It’s just unfair.”
Gov. Rod Blagojevich has about 1,100 clemency petitions on his desk, and his aides say they feel little pressure to act quickly. They deny it’s a backlog, saying Blagojevich has no deadline.
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