Posted on 07/09/2005 6:47:12 AM PDT by Mike Bates
Former Gov. George Ryan struck back at prosecutors Friday, calling their suggestion that Ryan cleared Death Row to influence potential jurors at his upcoming corruption trial "bizarre" and "truly outrageous."
Ryan leveled the criticism in court papers filed Friday by his attorneys Dan Webb and Brad Lerman.
Ryan is charged with being politically corrupt when he was secretary of state and governor, and he wants to tell jurors at his trial in September about his historic decision to clear Death Row to show "how he conducted himself in office," according to the court filing.
Prosecutor: Deeds irrelevant
"The government wants to present a one-sided, distorted view of George Ryan's public service," the filing states. "George Ryan did not sell his office or abandon the citizens of Illinois, and the jury is entitled to consider evidence relating to his entire term in office."
The prosecution, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Collins, has told Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer, who is hearing the case, that any mention of Ryan's Death Row deeds are irrelevant to his corruption trial.
If Ryan's defense gets to relate to jurors his work on the death penalty, prosecutors want to tell jurors about the speaking fees Ryan made on the lecture circuit on the issue. They also want to bring out whether his decision to override the penalty in more than 150 cases was fair in every instance.
Ryan's attorneys suggest in the filing how the death penalty issue may fit into a wider defense in which blame could be laid on his staff for alleged misdeeds that Ryan is charged with.
"That Ryan as governor spent years studying issues related to capital punishment and relied upon staff to handle more mundane questions . . . is a fact highly relevant to the charges in the indictment," Ryan's attorneys write.
Ryan's lawyers are probably right.
Sad, but true.
Just another indication he cares more for his own hide than for the citizens of his state. I agree that it will probably work.
I think Ryan should be able to talk about commuting the death sentences, but he must also be required to mention the six children who burned to death because of his corruption.
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