August 29
ILLINOIS:
Touched by a struggle for life----Though they never have met, U of I law
professor pushes nomination of George Ryan for a Nobel prize
Francis A. Boyle recognized before him a man "wrestling with his soul." He
witnessed the rare public spectacle of a seasoned politician unable to
reconcile his nascent personal moral convictions with the public policy he
was elected to enforce.
Boyle watched the governor of a major industrial state publicly struggle
with his position on the death penalty. He watched Illinois Gov. George
Ryan learn too much to endorse a system that both Ryan and Boyle believe
is riddled with inconsistency and injustice.
Boyle said, "I watched Ryan wrestling with his soul, and I was stunned. It
was a remarkable struggle, and it touched me."
A law professor at the University of Illinois, Boyle is point man for an
international committee advancing the nomination of Ryan for the
Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of Ryan's work on capital punishment.
The two men have never met. They do not know personal details about each
other. They're an unlikely team. Boyle is a lifelong, Harvard-educated
abolitionist and activist. Ryan is a Republican law-and-order conservative
who voted in favor of re-establishing the death penalty when he was in the
state Legislature.
It was as governor that Ryan had a painful change of conscience based, in
part, on work done by journalism students at Northwestern University. The
students were able to establish the innocence of a man on death row. Their
work precipitated other revelations that brought into question the
reliability of the criminal justice system.
During a recent interview in his office at the University of Illinois in
Champaign, Boyle said he watched as Ryan suffered publicly for his
position. That's when Boyle decided to use his special qualification as a
professor of international law to nominate Ryan for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Boyle had been asked to make nominations of other people in the past and
had always declined. Ryan is his 1st nomination, and it's based on his own
initiative.
Since making the decision, Boyle has nominated Ryan for the past two
years. Last year, Boyle was told Ryan reportedly was among the top five
contenders for the 2003 award. Also among the top 5 were Pope John Paul
II; Shirin Ebadi, who won the award; Vaclav Havel; and Luiz Inacio Lula da
Silva.
This spring, Boyle received a letter confirming his 2nd nomination of Ryan
for the 2004 prize, with results to be announced Oct. 15.
Boyle beefed up his 2004 nomination with a copy of the documentary
"Deadline" that aired on "Dateline NBC" last month. He also reminded the
Nobel committee that the indictments against Ryan announced in December
cannot be used to presume any guilt.
Boyle is outspoken in his belief the indictments are retaliation for
Ryan's position on the death penalty, in defiance of President George W.
Bush and Attorney General John Ashcroft who want to expand the death
penalty.
"Clear-cut retaliation," Boyle said.
The Nobel committee gradually has moved beyond recognition of a person's
good work and has begun to recognize people for the future impact of their
work as well, Boyle said.
"The award is given to influence the future, not just reward the past," he
said, noting such a philosophical shift leverages Ryan's nomination.
"Education will change the public's perception of the death penalty,"
Boyle said, citing his own international human rights class at the
University of Illinois as an example.
At the start of class, most students slightly favor the death penalty.
After reviewing facts and arguing perspectives, most students favor
abolition of the death penalty, the professor said.
"We spend two weeks looking at all the arguments in favor of the death
penalty. We look at why they are wrong," said Boyle, an avowed
abolitionist who "tells students flat out how I stand."
Boyle said he watched in amazement as Ryan set up his special commission
to study the death penalty with noted members, including former U.S. Sen.
Paul Simon and author Scott Turow, who also is an attorney.
When the report finally was issued and the Legislature failed to implement
any recommendations, Ryan issued his blanket clemency.
Co-chairman of the special commission was Frank McGarr, former chief judge
of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
McGarr said he is not in favor of total abolition of the death penalty but
is disappointed the Illinois Legislature did not implement more of the
recommendations of the commission's two-year study.
"I'd like to see total reform of the system leading up to the death
penalty," he said. "I am not talking about total elimination but use very
rarely and only in the most extreme situations."
McGarr said he had little contact with Ryan before or after appointment of
the special commission and believes that gives the recommendations of the
commission even more credibility because of their total independence.
David Protess, journalism professor at Northwestern University and founder
of the Medill Innocence Project, said he is grateful Ryan took the results
of the project's death penalty work and used the information to affect
public policy.
"He is an excellent candidate for the Nobel prize. He has demonstrated
great courage, and (this process) shows the potential of journalism,"
Protess said.
He and his students are examining capital punishment cases in other states
and are finding error rates even greater than in Illinois.
"The problem in our state is the tip of the iceberg in an epidemic of
wrongful convictions," he said. "George Ryan took a bold and courageous
stand."
Protess said retaliation comes with that kind of decisiveness; however, he
can't see the link between Ryan's capital punishment work and the
indictments against him.
"He took a bold and courageous stand. The public is yearning for that in
our elected officials," Protess said.
Boyle does link the indictments with the former governor's capital
punishment work.
"The reaction to Ryan has been incredibly negative. Everyone is beating up
on him from legislators to families of victims," he said. "I tried to
figure out what I could do. As a professor of international law, I'm
qualified to make this nomination."
He organized an international committee of lawyers and a psychiatrist to
advise on the 2004 nomination. In the meantime, indictments were issued
against Ryan.
"We waited. We consulted. We all agreed, he should be nominated again,"
Boyle said. "None of this Nobel work has been organized with Ryan. I stay
away from him."
Boyle has received his share of threats for his abolitionist work.
"I have a wife and three sons. I do not want vicious criminals out on the
streets at night," he said, acknowledging that the process of advancing
abolition of the death penalty has been more difficult for Ryan.
"He's paying a pretty terrible price," Boyle said. "The virtue of Gov.
Ryan is that he's made people think about the issue."
Boyle believes the death penalty still exists in the United States when
it's been outlawed in most of the civilized world because American society
glorifies violence as a means to solve problems.
"Gov. Ryan gives us all hope that reason can prevail," Boyle said.
(source: The Journal Star)
