Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 8, 2006 2:11:36 GMT -5
Clearing of death row colors many reactions
Bridget Drobney's parents still feel the pain of losing their 16-year-old
daughter, who was stabbed to death in a Macoupin County cornfield more
than 20 years ago.
"Every day. Every single day. And especially around the holidays and
especially when we have family gatherings over here," George Drobney said
Wednesday as he and his wife, Cathy, prepared to host a birthday party for
their granddaughter.
"There's always that one empty chair," he said. "It's never over."
Robert Turner of Wilsonville was convicted of murdering Bridget in 1985
and sentenced to die. He had used a flashing red light, similar to what
police cars have, to pull over the teen's vehicle.
But Turner's death sentence was thrown out, along with more than 100
others, when George Ryan - in one of his last acts as governor - emptied
death row in early 2003. The decision upset the Drobneys and numerous
families whose loved ones had been murder victims. Turner is serving a
life prison sentence.
After learning Wednesday that the former governor has been sentenced to
61/2 years in prison, George Drobney said he believes Ryan's decision to
clear death row was a tactic devised to ease his legal troubles.
"He had a pretty good idea (in early 2003) he was going to be indicted,
and I think he did this, really, for his own benefit, not because he
really believed in it," said Drobney, who lives in Downers Grove. "If he
doesn't lose his pension and if he doesn't serve the full 61/2 years, then
as far as I'm concerned, it's been a mockery of justice."
Verla Dee Madison, however, has a different view. The mother of former
death row inmate John Sherman Cole Jr., she believes that Ryan's sentence
is too harsh.
"I'm not really happy about that. To me, he did me a favor when he took
away the death sentence for my son," said Madison, who lives in
Collinsville.
Cole, of Springfield, was convicted of the fatally shooting Ruth Caulk and
her 15-year-old son, Shane, in their Montgomery County home in 1993.
Madison thinks Ryan should not have been convicted on corruption charges.
"I don't feel like he deserved prison time, maybe probation or something
like that," she added.
Springfield resident Richard Bowen, whose brother, Bernard, was murdered
in 1985, said he understood Ryan's decision to commute the inmates'
sentences because of problems with the state's death penalty system.
The affected death row inmates included James Ashford, who had been
convicted of killing Bernard Bowen.
The death penalty issue is separate from the Ryan corruption trial,
Richard Bowen said.
It is "a real tragedy that his life got caught up in that web," Bowen said
of Ryan.
Terry Supan, a Rochester resident who was a friend of murder victim Mimi
Covert, also thinks Ryan's corruption case and his death row actions are
unrelated.
"Governor Ryan's sentence is a different matter totally, because he was
convicted of the things he was convicted of," he said. Ryan's commuting of
the death sentences "really didn't have an impact one way or the other as
far as the things that he did wrong while he was the secretary of state or
the governor."
Covert was shot to death in 1985 after she offered DeWayne Britz a ride
when his stolen pickup truck stalled north of Springfield. The crime has
been called the "Good Samaritan murder."
(source: Journal-Register)
Bridget Drobney's parents still feel the pain of losing their 16-year-old
daughter, who was stabbed to death in a Macoupin County cornfield more
than 20 years ago.
"Every day. Every single day. And especially around the holidays and
especially when we have family gatherings over here," George Drobney said
Wednesday as he and his wife, Cathy, prepared to host a birthday party for
their granddaughter.
"There's always that one empty chair," he said. "It's never over."
Robert Turner of Wilsonville was convicted of murdering Bridget in 1985
and sentenced to die. He had used a flashing red light, similar to what
police cars have, to pull over the teen's vehicle.
But Turner's death sentence was thrown out, along with more than 100
others, when George Ryan - in one of his last acts as governor - emptied
death row in early 2003. The decision upset the Drobneys and numerous
families whose loved ones had been murder victims. Turner is serving a
life prison sentence.
After learning Wednesday that the former governor has been sentenced to
61/2 years in prison, George Drobney said he believes Ryan's decision to
clear death row was a tactic devised to ease his legal troubles.
"He had a pretty good idea (in early 2003) he was going to be indicted,
and I think he did this, really, for his own benefit, not because he
really believed in it," said Drobney, who lives in Downers Grove. "If he
doesn't lose his pension and if he doesn't serve the full 61/2 years, then
as far as I'm concerned, it's been a mockery of justice."
Verla Dee Madison, however, has a different view. The mother of former
death row inmate John Sherman Cole Jr., she believes that Ryan's sentence
is too harsh.
"I'm not really happy about that. To me, he did me a favor when he took
away the death sentence for my son," said Madison, who lives in
Collinsville.
Cole, of Springfield, was convicted of the fatally shooting Ruth Caulk and
her 15-year-old son, Shane, in their Montgomery County home in 1993.
Madison thinks Ryan should not have been convicted on corruption charges.
"I don't feel like he deserved prison time, maybe probation or something
like that," she added.
Springfield resident Richard Bowen, whose brother, Bernard, was murdered
in 1985, said he understood Ryan's decision to commute the inmates'
sentences because of problems with the state's death penalty system.
The affected death row inmates included James Ashford, who had been
convicted of killing Bernard Bowen.
The death penalty issue is separate from the Ryan corruption trial,
Richard Bowen said.
It is "a real tragedy that his life got caught up in that web," Bowen said
of Ryan.
Terry Supan, a Rochester resident who was a friend of murder victim Mimi
Covert, also thinks Ryan's corruption case and his death row actions are
unrelated.
"Governor Ryan's sentence is a different matter totally, because he was
convicted of the things he was convicted of," he said. Ryan's commuting of
the death sentences "really didn't have an impact one way or the other as
far as the things that he did wrong while he was the secretary of state or
the governor."
Covert was shot to death in 1985 after she offered DeWayne Britz a ride
when his stolen pickup truck stalled north of Springfield. The crime has
been called the "Good Samaritan murder."
(source: Journal-Register)