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CNN Live Today
Illinois Governor Expected to Pardon Inmates
Aired January 10, 2003 - 10:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, though, in just a few hours, the outgoing governor of Illinois is expected to announce that four death row inmates will be set free. CNN has learned that George Ryan will announce the pardons as a dramatic climax to his campaign to highlight flaws in the state's capital punishment system.
Our Chicago bureau chief Jeff Flock has the latest.
Jeff, good morning.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CHICAGO BUREAU CHIEF: Daryn, good morning to you now from the DePaul University Law School. This is where in about, well a little less than three hours' time, George Ryan will be here presumably to announce those pardons. A source close to the clemency process telling it will be those four men.
Now we've been trying all morning to get a sense for when these men would walk out of prison. We just got off with Leroy Orange's attorney. Now he indicates that he thinks Orange will walk free today. He is one man who is not actually in prison at the moment. He's in jail at Cook County Jail because he's had some court appearances. So Orange could be out some time today, perhaps later today.
And of course that jail is where we did an exclusive interview with Leroy Orange just a few months ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FLOCK: Jeff Flock, CNN.
(voice-over): Leroy Orange told us that police used electric shock to get him to confess to a quadruple murder he didn't commit.
LEROY ORANGE, DEATH ROW INMATE: They stuck it in my genitals and finally inserted something in my butt that shocked.
FLOCK (on camera): How'd you respond then?
ORANGE: I was scared to death for this being in custody of the Chicago Police Department.
FLOCK (voice-over): Aaron Patterson told us he was beaten and threatened into saying he stabbed an elderly couple. And his lawyer showed us photographs of this police bench where he scrawled the words with a paperclip "I lie about murders," "slapped and suffocated me with plastic." AARON PATTERSON, DEATH ROW INMATE: I tried to hold my breath and tried to bite through the bag so I can breathe.
FLOCK: Madison Hobley says police tortured him into confessing to an arson fire that killed seven, including his wife and children.
And Stanley Howard says he too was coerced by police, admitting to a 1987 murder he didn't commit.
GOVERNOR GEORGE RYAN (R), ILLINOIS: Innocent people going to death row, bad prosecution, bad eyewitnesses, bad judges, bad attorneys, bad everything.
FLOCK: And Governor George Ryan is going to do something about it.
RYAN: Because there's got to be some relief.
FLOCK: After spending weeks combing these briefing books on the cases of all 160 Illinois death row inmates, Ryan has decided to pardon four of them.
ORANGE: January would be 19 years locked up -- period.
FLOCK: In an exclusive interview with us in October, the 52- year-old Orange asked us to carry a message to the governor.
ORANGE: Suppose I would basically beg for my life.
FLOCK: But the new lease on life for Orange and the others is a blow to victims' families, most believe those found guilty truly are.
MARY JO BERKERY, VICTIM'S SISTER: If he chooses to even commute one of these sentences, I truly hope that all the souls of the murder victims haunt him the rest of the days of his life like the murders haunt us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FLOCK: And you know, Daryn, those family members may be even more upset tomorrow. Again, a source close to the governor tells us it's possible then he will announce his decision on commutations of sentences of other death row inmates. This would be commuting the sentence from death to life in prison. A lot of family members concerned about that. There could be a very large number there.
Now as for the people pardoned and who will be released, presumably some of them today, we just spoke with Aaron Patterson's mother, Jo Ann. She expressed some -- you know she's hearing it from us, she's hearing it from other reports, but she has not heard it officially, and she's almost feeling as though she doesn't yet believe it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JO ANN PATTERSON, MOTHER: I feel full of anxiety. And trying to figure out the transition, what's going to happen, you know, when he gets home because it's 20 years since he's been home? And I'm wondering is he really sure about himself with going on or is he still 20 years behind?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLOCK: It is a real interesting question. These are men, Leroy Orange, for example, in prison for 19 years, Aaron Patterson since '86. I haven't done the math on that one. And there is a concern on the part of some family members how these men will get back into society. Even if they're not guilty, they've obviously borne a significant burden for the last several years and getting back into society will be a challenge -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Jeff, I want to talk to you about tomorrow's speech and where it's taking place at Northwestern School of Law. This is very symbolic and would seem to give an indication...
FLOCK: That's right.
KAGAN: ... of what the governor has to say.
FLOCK: Well, as somebody at Northwestern said -- of course this is the center for wrongful convictions. This is a school that's been fighting to free some of these guys, a big story about law school students who have developed evidence to free other death row inmates. As somebody there told us, he wouldn't be coming here, "he" being the governor, to tell us something we didn't want to hear. They would, of course, like everyone's sentence commuted because they don't feel the system was fair and that anybody got a fair shake who got a death sentence in Illinois. Whether he goes that far or not, at this point we still don't know.
KAGAN: All right. As you were indicating, there are a lot of people who don't want to hear what the governor has to say. And making this kind of news,...
FLOCK: Yes, there are.
KAGAN: ... I'm sure there will be a lot of protests there as well.
Jeff Flock, thanks so much.
FLOCK: Thanks, Daryn.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 10, 2003 - 10:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, though, in just a few hours, the outgoing governor of Illinois is expected to announce that four death row inmates will be set free. CNN has learned that George Ryan will announce the pardons as a dramatic climax to his campaign to highlight flaws in the state's capital punishment system.
Our Chicago bureau chief Jeff Flock has the latest.
Jeff, good morning.
JEFF FLOCK, CNN CHICAGO BUREAU CHIEF: Daryn, good morning to you now from the DePaul University Law School. This is where in about, well a little less than three hours' time, George Ryan will be here presumably to announce those pardons. A source close to the clemency process telling it will be those four men.
Now we've been trying all morning to get a sense for when these men would walk out of prison. We just got off with Leroy Orange's attorney. Now he indicates that he thinks Orange will walk free today. He is one man who is not actually in prison at the moment. He's in jail at Cook County Jail because he's had some court appearances. So Orange could be out some time today, perhaps later today.
And of course that jail is where we did an exclusive interview with Leroy Orange just a few months ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FLOCK: Jeff Flock, CNN.
(voice-over): Leroy Orange told us that police used electric shock to get him to confess to a quadruple murder he didn't commit.
LEROY ORANGE, DEATH ROW INMATE: They stuck it in my genitals and finally inserted something in my butt that shocked.
FLOCK (on camera): How'd you respond then?
ORANGE: I was scared to death for this being in custody of the Chicago Police Department.
FLOCK (voice-over): Aaron Patterson told us he was beaten and threatened into saying he stabbed an elderly couple. And his lawyer showed us photographs of this police bench where he scrawled the words with a paperclip "I lie about murders," "slapped and suffocated me with plastic." AARON PATTERSON, DEATH ROW INMATE: I tried to hold my breath and tried to bite through the bag so I can breathe.
FLOCK: Madison Hobley says police tortured him into confessing to an arson fire that killed seven, including his wife and children.
And Stanley Howard says he too was coerced by police, admitting to a 1987 murder he didn't commit.
GOVERNOR GEORGE RYAN (R), ILLINOIS: Innocent people going to death row, bad prosecution, bad eyewitnesses, bad judges, bad attorneys, bad everything.
FLOCK: And Governor George Ryan is going to do something about it.
RYAN: Because there's got to be some relief.
FLOCK: After spending weeks combing these briefing books on the cases of all 160 Illinois death row inmates, Ryan has decided to pardon four of them.
ORANGE: January would be 19 years locked up -- period.
FLOCK: In an exclusive interview with us in October, the 52- year-old Orange asked us to carry a message to the governor.
ORANGE: Suppose I would basically beg for my life.
FLOCK: But the new lease on life for Orange and the others is a blow to victims' families, most believe those found guilty truly are.
MARY JO BERKERY, VICTIM'S SISTER: If he chooses to even commute one of these sentences, I truly hope that all the souls of the murder victims haunt him the rest of the days of his life like the murders haunt us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FLOCK: And you know, Daryn, those family members may be even more upset tomorrow. Again, a source close to the governor tells us it's possible then he will announce his decision on commutations of sentences of other death row inmates. This would be commuting the sentence from death to life in prison. A lot of family members concerned about that. There could be a very large number there.
Now as for the people pardoned and who will be released, presumably some of them today, we just spoke with Aaron Patterson's mother, Jo Ann. She expressed some -- you know she's hearing it from us, she's hearing it from other reports, but she has not heard it officially, and she's almost feeling as though she doesn't yet believe it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JO ANN PATTERSON, MOTHER: I feel full of anxiety. And trying to figure out the transition, what's going to happen, you know, when he gets home because it's 20 years since he's been home? And I'm wondering is he really sure about himself with going on or is he still 20 years behind?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FLOCK: It is a real interesting question. These are men, Leroy Orange, for example, in prison for 19 years, Aaron Patterson since '86. I haven't done the math on that one. And there is a concern on the part of some family members how these men will get back into society. Even if they're not guilty, they've obviously borne a significant burden for the last several years and getting back into society will be a challenge -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Jeff, I want to talk to you about tomorrow's speech and where it's taking place at Northwestern School of Law. This is very symbolic and would seem to give an indication...
FLOCK: That's right.
KAGAN: ... of what the governor has to say.
FLOCK: Well, as somebody at Northwestern said -- of course this is the center for wrongful convictions. This is a school that's been fighting to free some of these guys, a big story about law school students who have developed evidence to free other death row inmates. As somebody there told us, he wouldn't be coming here, "he" being the governor, to tell us something we didn't want to hear. They would, of course, like everyone's sentence commuted because they don't feel the system was fair and that anybody got a fair shake who got a death sentence in Illinois. Whether he goes that far or not, at this point we still don't know.
KAGAN: All right. As you were indicating, there are a lot of people who don't want to hear what the governor has to say. And making this kind of news,...
FLOCK: Yes, there are.
KAGAN: ... I'm sure there will be a lot of protests there as well.
Jeff Flock, thanks so much.
FLOCK: Thanks, Daryn.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
