Tag: George Ryan

Former Illinois Senator George Ryan, 76, serving a 78 month prison sentence, is seeking clemency (not a pardon) from President Barack Obama.

Lura Lynn Ryan, who has a terminal lung disease, said she is on oxygen 24 hours a day. Ryan, in federal prison in Indiana for more than two years, also has health problems, including kidney disease and infected teeth, said former Gov. Jim Thompson, who is representing Ryan.

..."There's nothing to be gained by keeping him another five years," Thompson said today. "He's already been punished, they are penniless and Mrs. Ryan has a very life-threatening illness. We're not asking for a pardon, just a release."

The Supreme Court today refused to consider the appeal of former Illinois Governor George Ryan, who is serving a 6 1/2 year sentence on corruption charges.

In other Chicago corruption trial news, the Tony Rezko jury is still deliberationg. They've been meeting part-time over the past 14 days, putting in only 6 days of deliberations. But they must know they're slacking off. Today's reason for cutting out early after four days off was that a juror had a job interview to go to. In a note, the jury wrote:

the jury told the judge in the second part of its note that it will be working until 5:50 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday. The longer hours were "to help conclude our decision," the jury note said.

Friday is a no-deliberate day as one has child care problems that day. [More...]

All options are now exhausted. Former Illinois Governor George Ryan, age 73, will report to federal prison in rural Wisconsin by sundown tomorrow to begin serving his 6 1/2 year sentence. Supreme Court Justice John Stevens today denied his appeal for a stay.

Gov. Ryan did a great thing while in office.

He .... suspended all executions in Illinois and emptied out death row by commuting the sentences of all 167 inmates to life in prison. He cited the risk of the criminal justice system making a grave and irreversible error.

Bump and Update: Gov. Ryan has been ordered to report to prison November 7.

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Gov. George Ryan: Supreme Court is His Last Chance

Former Illinios Governor George Ryan lost his federal appeal yesterday, seeking to overturn his conviction and 6 1/2 year jail sentence on corruption charges.

His last hope is the Supreme Court. The 7th Circuit vote was 6 to 3, with Judge Richard Posner writing a stinging dissent. Mostly, they criticized the length of the trial and blamed the trial judge for not exercising more control over the proceedings.

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Former Illinois Governor George Ryan lost his appeal to overturn his conviction on corruption charges yesterday. He will remain free pending a request for an "en banc" rehearing by the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The main issue in the appeal involves the propriety of the Judge substituting two alternate jurors 8 days after deliberations began and a juror's bringing outside material into the jury room.

Yes, a juror did bring improper outside information into deliberations at Ryan's trial and "there is no doubt this should not have happened," the two-judge majority wrote. The judges also acknowledged that the sudden removal of an outspoken juror after eight days of deliberations was irregular.

"The trial may not have been picture-perfect," the two judges wrote in the majority opinion.

One judge dissented from the majority's view:

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