Sr. George H. Ryan Sr. - Until I Could Be Sure

Praise for Until I Could Be Sure

This book is the compelling, personal, and highly evocative story of a man who finds himself confronting a long-held beliefthat the death penalty was a necessary part of the criminal justice systemand finding that belief shattered by the facts. Ryans transformation from death penalty supporter to death penalty opponent is fascinating, instructive, and, ultimately, inspiring.

Andrea D. Lyon, professor emeritus, Valparaiso University Law School;

principal at Lyon Law

This book is not only about the death penalty. It is a chronicle that teaches us about integrity, leadership, growth, and the struggle to do the right thing. Those who care to listen will be touched by the lessons from George H. Ryan Sr.s journey for decades to come. He leads us on. Michael L. Radelet, University of Colorado

Illinois put innocence on the map and that is still the most influential issue for many people when it comes to the death penalty.

Richard Dieter, former executive director, Death Penalty Information Center

Under Ryans leadership, Illinois consolidated the forces that diminished the death penaltys use, emboldening the abolition of the death penalty in other states, other governors moratoria on executions, and prosecutors decisions across the country to stop using the punishment.

James Liebman, professor, Columbia Law School;

author of The Wrong Carlos: Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution

Ryan had a great impact during the time between declaring the moratorium and announcing the commutations and pardons. The fact that he was a Republican and former supporter of the death penalty and that his mind was changed by seeing that many people sentenced to death were innocent made it impossible to dismiss him. The impact that he had on the media, officials, and the public was substantial. I assign students in my class each year to read his statement, I Must Act, announcing the commutations and pardons. It was a truly historic moment in the history of the death penalty in the United States.

Stephen Bright, director, Southern Center for Human Rights 19822005,

president 20062017; lecturer, Yale Law School

Lost faith in our justice system? Cynical about politicians who only purse their self-interest? Read this inspiring book. Its a gripping story about the events that led to the end of the death penalty in Illinois. But its about more than societys ultimate punishment. Its also a remarkable tale about how lawyers, investigators, journalists, and even journalism students came together to free innocents on death row, and at the center of it all, a career politician who found his moral compass and acted boldly on it. The book reads like a novel yet has the virtue of being true.

David Protess, (ret.), Chicago Innocence Project

Although I am a liberal Democratic feminist and Ryan is a Republican, we became friends based on his principles and values and his willingness to do what was right despite the consequences. The elimination of the death penalty was not popular in downstate Illinois, where he comes from. It also was not popular with his Republican colleagues. But despite the political ramifications, Governor Ryan did what was right once he understood the issues and saw the miscarriage of justice in so many cases. This book is an intimate view of the rationale behind his decision and into the character of the man who made that critically important decision.

Hedy Ratner, founder, co-president emerita consultant,

Womens Business Development Center, Chicago

Until I Could Be Sure is a powerful memoir of how Illinois governor Ryan declared a moratorium on the death penalty, emptied the state's death row, and endorsed innocence reforms to fix a broken system. These landmark decisions by a conservative Republican at the beginning of the twenty-first century, when opposition to the death penalty was seen as a political third rail, were from the heart, based on the merits, and acts of moral courage. Ryans journey on these issues was one I hope more twenty-first-century politicians emulate. Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project

Until I Could Be Sure

How I Stopped the
Death Penalty in Illinois

George H. Ryan Sr.

With Maurice Possley

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Published by Rowman & Littlefield

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706

www.rowman.com

6 Tinworth Street, London SE11 5AL, United Kingdom

Copyright 2020 by George H. Ryan Sr.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available