The New York Times

Monday, February 1, 2000

A Timeout on the Death Penalty

Gov. George Ryan of Illinois has shown political courage and integrity in being the first governor in a death penalty state to put a stop, at least temporarily, to executions in light of overwhelming evidence that the capital punishment system is prone to make mistakes. He said yesterday, "I now favor a moratorium, because I have grave concerns about our state's shameful record of convicting innocent people and putting them on death row." Since capital punishment was reinstated in Illinois in 1977, 12 death row inmates have been executed while 13 have been exonerated after their cases were reopened, many with the help of volunteer lawyers.

Governor Ryan cited a recent series by The Chicago Tribune that examined nearly 300 cases in Illinois courts in which the death sentence had been imposed. Of some 260 cases that have been appealed, fully half have been reversed for a new trial or sentencing hearing. The newspaper found that in more than 30 cases, death row inmates were represented by lawyers who were disbarred or suspended from practice. In more than 40 cases, testimony from a jail-house informant -- generally regarded as unreliable -- was used to convict or condemn the defendant. In numerous other cases, recanted testimony by prosecution witnesses, improper rulings by the judge or misconduct by the prosecutors resulted in convictions that had to be reversed.

Governor Ryan, a Republican, has been a supporter of capital punishment, and says he still believes that death is appropriate in some cases, provided the system functions accurately. He said yesterday, "I cannot support a system, which, in its administration, has proven so fraught with error and has come so close to the ultimate nightmare, the state's taking of innocent life."

Even talking about the system's mistakes shows an honesty that many pro-death penalty politicians refuse to acknowledge. Indeed, even as new technology and DNA evidence make it possible to prove actual innocence, state and federal lawmakers have been truncating the ability of death row inmates to appeal wrongful convictions. Congress in 1996 set extremely tight time limits for federal death penalty appeals, making it more likely that innocent people will be executed for crimes they did not commit.

Illinois is not the only state with a capital justice system so flawed that it cannot ensure that innocent people are spared. The solution ultimately is to end capital punishment, a system that cannot afford to mete out a single mistaken sentence. Governor Ryan at least is willing to halt the executions long enough to appoint a commission to review the administration of the death penalty and analyze the horrendous mistakes that have already been proved. It is time that other pro-death penalty governors -- including Gov. George W. Bush of Texas -- acknowledge the flaws and stop what Justice Harry Blackmun once called the "machinery of death."