Illinois Professor Francis A. Boyle has made an annual crusade out of attempting to secure the coveted [Nobel] prize for ex-Gov. George Ryan, who was convicted in 2006 of using his public office to enrich himself and his associates. As an international law professor, Boyle is allowed to nominate people for the Nobel.
"Thanks to Governor George Ryan there have been no...executions by the State of Illinois for over a decade,'' Boyle noted in an email announcing his latest nomination of Ryan.
What are Ryan's chances of winning a Nobel? Probably the same as they've been in past years. Certainly, the prize has gone to political prisoners--but to give one to a guy serving an apparently valid sentence for political corruption would raise some eyebrows.
Many death penalty opponents who admire what Ryan did say his corruption conviction is a separate and irrelevant thing. Boyle has taken it a step further, claiming (with an unusual theory, and no proof, it should be noted) that Ryan was purposefully prosecuted by the Feds because of his anti-death-penalty work.
via www.stltoday.com