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Other authors named George:
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Author's popularity: -1
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Vote: | Because the Illinois death penalty system is arbitrary and capricious - and therefore immoral - I no longer shall tinker with the machinery of death. |
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Vote: | I can't dictate to George W. Bush. |
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Vote: | I don't know that we do. I had thought ours worked well, but I had never examined it too closely. A lot of media people will be looking for a case that might make Texas Governor George Bush think twice about what he's doing. |
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Vote: | I support the death penalty. But I also think there has to be no margin for error. |
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Vote: | I'm going to sleep well tonight knowing that I made the right decision. |
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Vote: | Our capital system is haunted by the demon of error: error in determining guilt and error in determining who among the guilty deserves to die. What effect was race having? What effect was poverty having? |
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Biography
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George Homer Ryan (born February 24, 1934 in Maquoketa, Iowa) was the governor of the U.S. state of Illinois from 1999 until 2003. He was a member of the Republican Party. A former pharmacist, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Lt. Governor, and Secretary of State, he was elected governor in 1998, defeating his Democratic opponent, congressman Glenn Poshard, by a 51%-47% margin.
Ryan's term in office was marked by a scandal involving the illegal sale of government licenses, contracts and leases by state employees during his prior service as Secretary of State; in the wake of numerous convictions of former aides, he chose not to run for reelection in 2002. In December 2003 he was indicted on 18 federal racketeering, fraud and conspiracy charges. The scandals are widely believed to have hurt the chances for Republicans to hold the governorship; Jim Ryan (no relation) lost to Rod Blagojevich in the 2002 election, ending 25 years of Republican governorships.
One of Ryan's pet projects as governor was an extensive repair of the Illinois Highway System called "Illinois FIRST." FIRST was an acronym for "Fund for Infrastructure, Roads, Schools, and Transit." Signed into law in May 1999, the law created a $6.3 billion package for use in school and transportation projects. With various matching funds programs, Illinois FIRST provided $2.2 billion for schools, $4.1 billion for public transportation, another $4.1 billion for roads, and $1.6 billion for other projects.
Ryan gained national attention shortly before leaving office when he decided to commute the sentences of everyone on or waiting to be sent to death row in Illinois—a total of 167 convicts—due to his belief that the death penalty was incapable of being administered fairly. He also pardoned four inmates - Aaron Patterson, Madison Hobley and Leroy Orange, who were freed, and Stanley Howard, who was pardoned but remained in prison due to a separate conviction.
He had previously imposed a state-wide moratorium on executions in 2000.
External link *CNN.com: "'Blanket commutation' empties Illinois death row", January 11, 2003.
...(more on Wikipedia)
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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "George Ryan".
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