Hobley was not the only one to be spared from lethal injection. Gov. George Ryan pardoned three other condemned men and then, a day later, dramatically cleared death row in Illinois–commuting the death sentences of 167 inmates to life without parole. It was a stunning move by the departing governor, hailed by foes of capital punishment as courageous, but condemned as unjust by many victims’ families and outraged prosecutors.
Whatever the merits, the sweeping act of clemency underscores a growing reluctance by states to carry out executions, says Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center. The number of people on death row nationally has fallen for the first time since capital punishment was reinstated in 1976. “As the problems with the death penalty become clearer,” says Dieter, “states are having to face more and more questions about it.” Some 10 states have recently ordered studies to examine the fairness of the death penalty; Ryan’s action could spur even more second-guessing.
It could also spark a backlash. Victims’ groups, which tend to hold powerful sway with politicians, sharply criticized the blanket clemency. “There are going to be some very hard feelings,” says Dieter. Moreover, the move is likely to swell resentments among people who see such an edict as subverting the will of the courts and legislatures, says Ken Scheidegger, the legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation. He notes that support for capital punishment, though down a bit from a decade ago, still hovers around a lofty 70 percent. Already, Maryland Governor-elect Robert Ehrlich Jr. has promised to lift that state’s moratorium on executions.
Governor Ryan, a Republican who entered office as a proponent of capital punishment, declared a moratorium on executions in Illinois three years ago, after 13 death-row inmates were exonerated–in one case just 48 hours before a slated lethal injection. “We nearly killed innocent people,” Ryan thundered in indignation last week. “The system is broken.”
Loved ones of some victims saw it differently. Ollie Dodds lost her daughter, Johnnie Mae, in the fire that police insist was set by Hobley. Dabbing tears, Dodds said Ryan was letting her daughter’s killer go free. “I just wonder, if he had lost a daughter, if he would do it the same way,” she said.
The clemency also provoked outrage from prosecutors and other Ryan foes who say the governor is using the issue to salvage his battered reputation. Ryan has been tarnished by a bribes-for-licenses scandal that occurred on his watch as state secretary of State, though he has not been personally charged with any wrongdoing. Ryan steps down as governor on Monday, replaced by Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who criticized the blanket commutations.
In his speech on Saturday, Ryan said he knew the decision would “draw ridicule, scorn and anger.” But he stood by the decision, he said, because “the Illinois death-penalty system is arbitrary and capricious–and, therefore, immoral.” In highlighting the shortcomings of the death-penalty system, Ryan had cited Chicago police brutality that resulted in coerced confessions.
For his part, Madison Hobley is trying to get used to freedom. The Chicago skyline is different. The look of cars is unfamiliar. “I have a lot of anxiety,” he told NEWSWEEK. “You know, for 16 years, they told me when to wake up, when to eat, when to go to bed. Now I’m free. And I feel a little lost.” But he’s grateful to have found his way home.
