 U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer issued the 58-page ruling
nearly a month after his attorneys argued that parts of Ryan's
conviction should be tossed, based on a U.S. Supreme Court decision
curtailing anti-fraud laws -- known as "honest services" laws.
Pallmeyer ruled that while the Supreme Court case was relevant,
Ryan's circumstances were different enough that his conviction
should stand.
The 76-year-old former governor has served three years of a 6
1/2-year sentence on convictions of racketeering, conspiracy, tax
fraud and making false statements to the FBI. His current release
date is 2013.
Former Gov. James R. Thompson, one of Ryan's attorneys, said
lawyers would appeal the ruling "as quickly as we can." The appeals
court could grant Ryan bail as he awaits their decision, but
Thompson noted every decision has gone against Ryan so far.
"I have no reason for optimism," Thompson said. "I only have a
very strong belief that we are right and the court of appeals will
recognize it."
Last week, Ryan's attorneys made an urgent plea for his release
after his wife was hospitalized. Doctors have given Lura Lynn Ryan,
who was diagnosed with terminal cancer, as little as three months to
live.
George Ryan Jr., the former governor's son, told reporters
gathered outside the family's home in Kankakee that his parents are
"devastated" by the ruling. And he had harsh words for the judge.
"We're tremendously saddened by Judge Pallmeyer's cold, heartless
decision," he said. "Is this what American justice is now?"
Pallmeyer ended her ruling with references to the plight of Lura
Lynn, the former governor's wife of more than 50 years, but she said
that in deciding on a convicted defendant's release from prison,
"the most relevant factor must not be his or her personal
circumstances."
"Any sensitive judge realizes that a lengthy prison term
effectively robs the convicted person of what we all value most:
months and years with loved ones, some of whom will no longer be
there when the sentence has been served. Mr. Ryan, like other
convicted persons, undoubtedly wishes it were otherwise. His conduct
has exacted a stiff penalty, not only for himself but also for his
family," Pallmeyer wrote.
Andrea Lyon, another of Ryan's attorneys who also was at the
home, said she thought Pallmeyer was wrong on the law. She said she
hoped the appeal came together in time for the Ryans to reunite.
"The bottom line is Mrs. Ryan's going to die, and she's never
going see her husband again because she cannot travel," Lyon said.
After Pallmeyer's ruling, Lura Lynn Ryan told the Chicago
Sun-Times: "We will get through this."
She added that her "strength comes from having a wonderful
marriage and a trust in the Lord."
Doctors recently found a new mass in Lura Lynn Ryan's lungs as
well as lesions in her liver and cancer in her spine. Doctors
believe she has a "very aggressive cancer and that there is no
cure," according to a motion filed last week by Ryan's attorneys.
Doctors have given her "between three to six months to live at
best," the motion said.
Defense lawyers have long criticized honest services laws as too
vague and a last resort of prosecutors in corruption cases that lack
the evidence to prove money is changing hands. The Supreme Court
largely agreed in its June ruling.
But Pallmeyer ruled that vagueness wasn't an issue in Ryan's
case.
"Ryan clearly understood 'what conduct was prohibited' and could
not have been surprised that he was subject to prosecution," she
wrote, using language from the Supreme Court ruling.
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Ryan was convicted in 2006 of steering state contracts and leases
to political insiders while he was secretary of state and then
governor for one term. He received vacations and gifts in return. He
also was accused of stopping an investigation into secretary of
state employees accepting bribes in exchange for truck drivers’
licenses.
Gifts to Ryan for helping his friends with contracts and leases
ranged from $145,000 in loans to his brother's floundering business
to a free golf bag, witnesses testified.
Not all his convictions were tied to honest services laws, and
his attorneys were seeking only to have those linked to such laws
overturned. If Pallmeyer had agreed to strike those, the defense had
wanted Ryan to go free based on time served.
Among those who have challenged convictions based at least in
part on honest services laws are former newspaper magnate Conrad
Black, who, unlike Ryan, has been released on bond.
Reactions to the ruling were mixed in Ryan's hometown of
Kankakee, with some residents saying he should go free to be with
his wife, and others balking at the idea that the former governor
would get special treatment.
"I don't think it should matter who the person is. If they did
the crime, they should have to pay the time," said 30-year-old Adam
Meyer.
The corruption scandal that led to Ryan's conviction ended his
political career and left him with a conflicted legacy in Illinois
history. While he's one of four recent governors to be convicted in
federal court, he also gained national prominence as an outspoken --
and unexpected -- death penalty critic. Just before leaving office
in January 2003, Ryan commuted the death sentences of 167 inmates to
life in prison and pardoned four others, declaring the state's
capital justice system "haunted by the demon of error."
Thompson said the move took courage, "especially for an old-line
Republican politician, which George was," he said.
Thompson acknowledged that the conviction "gives (Ryan) a bad rap
on his legacy," but said he ultimately was a good governor who got
things done. Thompson declined to comment on the timing of
Pallmeyer's ruling, which came four days before Christmas.
"When you're in the penitentiary, and your wife is dying, I don't
think you think about what day of the week it is," he said.
[Associated Press;
By KAREN HAWKINS]
Hawkins reported
from Chicago. Associated Press writer Tammy Webber in Kankakee contributed to
this report.
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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