every so often someone rather unexpected does something totally amazing. today george ryan joined the short list (one of the shortest lists i keep, probably) of republicans i admire by commuting the sentences of all illinois death row inmates. the things he said in doing so were amazing -- read the new york times article here -- and are likely to have him in extremely hot water with his party in the very near future.

i was frankly astounded by the things ryan said in commuting the sentences--note, especially, his admissions that the criminal justice system is "broken" and "racist." now, these are not astounding revelations for many progressives, but they are certainly astounding things to hear in the national media from the republican governor of a death penalty state. no one has been thinking about the death penalty lately, at least not directly. most americans have been terrorized into believing the threat to their personal safety that is "terrorism." lefties are worried about civil liberties and the bush administration's civilian-murder in other countries. who has time to pay attention to the plight of convicted murderers? my hope, i suppose, is that ryan's announcement will reinvigorate the death penalty debate (even in the face of extreme countervailing pressure from seemingly every other republican in the country).

someone asked me recently whether i thought it true that there exists one system of ethics for individuals and another for states. i think not, though in practical terms--for example, what states can and cannot legislate-- it might seem that way. for me, the death penalty is a great example. my own ethical/moral standard says that i shouldn't kill people in order to gain convenience, popularity or possessions, and i think this is a rule states should also be using, the problem being that in the united states we have repeatedly, as states, violated that code. the death penalty is racist and classist in its application; it does not prevent murder or any other form of violent crime. however, it is simple to understand and politically satisfying...and so the state, and the people that run it, are willing to execute possibly innocent people in order to gain entirely symbolic feelings of safety...which is why george ryan's debate needs to happen. too bad he had to wait for the end of his career to do this.