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Illinois Governor Spares All on Death Row

NPR | By Cheryl Corley
Published January 11, 2003 at 12:00 AM EST

On his last weekend in office, Illinois Gov. George Ryan commutes death sentences for all of the state's death-row inmates, calling the state's capital punishment system "arbitrary, capricious and therefore immoral." The move throws the death-penalty debate into sharper focus. NPR's Cheryl Corley reports.

Copyright 2003 NPR
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Cheryl Corley
Cheryl Corley is a Chicago-based NPR correspondent who works for the National Desk. She primarily covers criminal justice issues as well as breaking news in the Midwest and across the country.
See stories by Cheryl Corley
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