Illinois governor George Ryan may commute all death sentences before he leaves office.

"Since Illinois resumed capital punishment in 1977, 12 people have been executed and 13 other death sentences were overturned. In some cases, evidence showed they were innocent; in others, courts ruled that they received unfair trials. "

If he does, he has good cause. After declaring a moratorium on the death penalty in 2000, he commissioned a study as to what went wrong with the death penalty in Illinois and how it could corrected. The report was issued in April, 2002 and contained 85 specific recommendations to remedy the problems. Yet none have been implemented.

Governor Ryan is quoted in the article as saying, "I don't know how I could pick and choose. That's why I have to determine whether it's going to be for everybody or for nobody."

Reading between the lines, we think Governor Ryan is saying he will commute all the death sentences in Illinois unless the legislature first enacts a meaningful number of the recommended reforms. That's not unfair. What's the point of having a fact-finding commission if its conclusions and recommendations are just going to be ignored?