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MEMBERS OF ILLINOIS CLEMENCY PANEL OUSTED BOTH HAD EXPRESSED CRITICISM OF REVIEW PROCESS FOR CLEMENCY PETITIONS OF STATE'S DEATH ROW INMATES By Christopher Wills, The Associated Press, Reported in Las Vegas Review Journal, 10-20-02, P. 17A SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A member of the board hearing more than 140 clemency petitions for Illinois death row inmates this month has been removed from the hearings after criticizing the process and the inmates 'claims. A second outspoken member also will be switched to new duties this week, but that was planned even before the clemency reviews began. Both Arvin Boddie and William Harris have expressed skepticism about the claims of defense attorneys that Illinois' capital punishment system is broken and that inmates did not receive fair trials. Prisoner Review Board chairwoman Ann Taylor said Saturday their reassignment had nothing to do with the men's comments or a complaint made about Boddie by a third board member. Rather, she said, the changes were simply attempts to keep up with the board's other duties. She said she was not pressured to make changes by Gov. George Ryan's office. Harris said he was told in September that he would be assigned to a Harrisburg prison, near his home in southern Illinois, to hear discipline and parole requests during the second week of the hearings. He said he doesn't believe anyone is trying to silence him. "If anyone were trying to curtail my thoughts, I'd be surprised and amazed," Harris told the Chicago Tribune. "That's not true." Boddie was told Friday to work at the Pontiac prison this week instead of hearing clemency cases. Taylor said Boddie was chosen for that job because he lives closer to the prison than other board members. The hearings, which began Tuesday, come more than two years after Ryan halted all executions in Illinois, citing the wrongful convictions of 13 inmates. After Ryan raised the possibility of commuting the sentences of every inmate on death row to life in prison without parole, inmates flooded the review board with clemency requests. The 14-member board, split into four panels in Chicago and Springfield, is speeding through cases to determine whether inmates should receive life sentences. Ryan, who urged the sweeping review, can accept or reject its recommendations. Prosecutors and victims' families have been critical of the hearings, calling them a slapdash attempt to undo justified capital verdicts that took months or years to win. Dennis Culloton, a spokesman for the governor, said Saturday that board member Jorge Montes complained to the governor's office about Boddie's conduct but was told that the board had to resolve the problem itself. Culloton criticized some members for clearly taking sides during the hearings. "They are supposed to be somewhat impartial at this point and to make confidential recommendations after deliberating with other members," Culloton said. "I don't see how declaring how you're going to vote is consistent with how the board is supposed to operate." Boddie said he will accept his reassignment, but he defended his comments. "It doesn't hurt me to be silenced. It hurts those that should have the benefit of hearing what I've got to say," Boddie said. Boddie was particularly vocal during the hearings, at one point saying he was "sick and tired" of inmates making claims they couldn't back up with hard evidence. He also said he was "offended by the manner" in which the hearings were being conducted. Harris, a former Democratic state representative, repeatedly indicated that he supports prosecutors and victims' families who have opposed clemency for condemned prisoners. Boddie was appointed to the board by Ryan in 2000, and Harris was first appointed by former Gov. James Thompson in 1990. | ||
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WORKING TOGETHER TO ATTAIN FAIRNESS
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