Ryan says he has a 'clear conscience' before reporting to prison
KANKAKEE, Ill.---- George Ryan, a pharmacist-turned-governor who gained international acclaim for his opposition to the death penalty, said he would fight to clear his name even as he prepared for life inside a Wisconsin prison.
Ryan spent his last night at his Kankakee home huddled with family and friends and told reporters in a news conference on his front lawn that he had a ''clear conscience'' heading into the 61/2-year sentence for corruption that destroyed his political career and left the state awash in scandal.
(AP)
(AP)
PHOTO GALLERY
The Ryan Legacy
''Tomorrow I embark on a new journey in my life. I do so with a firm faith in God and the support and faith of my family,'' Ryan said Tuesday night, surrounded by his wife, Lura Lynn, his children and other friends.
The 73-year-old said he would report as ordered on Wednesday to the federal facility in Oxford, Wis.
''But I do so with a clear conscience. And I have said since the beginning of this 10-year ordeal that I am innocent and I intend to prove that,'' Ryan said.
Ryan thanked his supporters while acknowledging the controversy the accusations against him had caused.
''To the people of Illinois, I'm not blind to the sentiment that some hold but I want you to know that I did my best,'' he said.
Sympathy for an aging favorite son bloomed side by side with disgust for political corruption in Kankakee as residents got word earlier Tuesday that the U.S. Supreme Court would not grant the formerly powerful Republican's last-hope request for bail while his attorneys appeal his conviction.
''He got caught with his pants down,'' said Thomas Bires, 47, who makes a living driving people to medical appointments.
Others were more sympathetic.
''I think George is getting a bad break,'' said retired firefighter Nathaniel White, 69, who noted Ryan's decision as governor to suspended executions in Illinois and empty out death row by commuting the sentences of all 167 inmates to life in prison.
Former Gov. James Thompson, Ryan's chief defense counsel, said he was not surprised by U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens' decision not to grant bail while Ryan continues to press his case before the nation's highest court.
''We knew that our petition for bail was a long shot,'' he told reporters at a news conference. But Thompson said he would go ahead and try to get the Supreme Court to consider Ryan's appeal even as the former governor serves time.
Thompson said he will travel with Ryan on his journey to prison. He must report by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
''In addition to being my client, George Ryan has been my friend for 39 years and I don't run from my friends when they get in trouble,'' Thompson said.
The minimum-security prison camp, located about 60 miles north of Madison, has space for 206 inmates in four wings, said Mike Truman, a spokesman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington. It is in a mostly rural area with land set aside nearby for waterfowl habitat.
Ryan's typical work day will begin at 7:30 a.m. and include duties such as mopping floors, cleaning toilets, raking leaves, cutting grass, painting and shoveling snow, Truman said.
Ryan was convicted of steering big-money state contracts to Warner and other friends, using state money and state workers to run his campaigns and killing an investigation of bribes paid for truck driver's licenses.
His claim that he did not receive a fair trial is based primarily on chaotic jury deliberations. Two jurors were dismissed after it was found they had omitted mention of their police records on a questionnaire.
Ryan and co-defendant Larry Warner, whose request for bail also was turned down by the high court, have remained free on bond since their April 2006 convictions.