Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan

ILLINOIS (USA): GEORGE RYAN CREATES DEATH PENALTY ABOLITION GROUP

July 8, 2015: Former Gov. George Ryan, whose moratorium laid the groundwork for ending the death penalty in Illinois during Gov. Pat Quinn's administration, has formed a not-for-profit organization called “Abolition Now” to battle executions nationwide.
"I was falsely accused by critics years ago of using my fight against the death penalty to divert attention away from the federal investigation against me," said Ryan, who was released from federal prison in 2013 after serving more than 5 years for corruption.
"Life is what gets thrown at you. You just have to deal with it and move on," he added. "But I always planned to fight the death penalty, and we just got tax-exemption approval from the state for Abolition Now, which will help create policy to end executions," he said.
"We are now awaiting federal approval." Meanwhile, Ryan - who was released from federal prison in July 2013 - spent the 4th of July holiday with 30 members of his family in Springfield. "I am now a great-grandfather and spend a lot of time with my family; have got my house in Kankakee in fairly good shape and am almost done with my book, which is a biography of sorts - but deals primarily with my time in office and my trial," he said. "Life is good," he said. "But it should also be fair." Ryan declared a statewide moratorium on executions in 2000. (Source: Chicago Sun-Times, 08/07/2015)