Documented error in capital cases drove one governor to commute an entire death row

Evidence

In Illinois, following the exoneration of a condemned man 2 days before his scheduled execution, Governor George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions; and 2 days before leaving office in 2003, he declared that the death penalty in Illinois was “fraught with error” and commuted the sentences of all 167 death row inmates to “life” terms. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2050

Categorization

• SHARE: Niche detail for anyone who follows death penalty abolition history—the single largest commutation of its kind.
• XREF: connects to: Inadequate defense counsel in capital cases produces wrongful convictions and exonerations — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2050