The abolition of the death penalty in Illinois was a long, arduous process spanning more than a decade. Former Illinois governor George Ryan took the first and difficult step in 2ooo to halt all executions until a thorough review of every death row case could be conducted. I recently talked with Ryan and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Maurice Possley about their new book, Until I could be sure: How I stopped the death penalty in Illinois.  Anyone who believes they know the full story of how and why Ryan emptied out death row in 2003 with commutations of all death sentences, should read Ryan’s book.

Here’s a link to my story and the interview broadcast on WGLT:

https://www.wglt.org/post/book-explores-former-gov-george-ryans-reasons-halting-death-penalty