Justices Turn Down Illinois Governor's Plea
Tue Nov 6, 2007 1:45PM
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Justices Turn Down Ill. Governor's Plea
The Associated Press
Tuesday, November 6, 2007

WASHINGTON -- Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan lost his final bid
Tuesday to delay starting his prison term when Supreme Court Justice
John Paul Stevens turned down his request to remain free on bail.

Ryan is due to report to the federal correctional center at Oxford,
Wis., on Wednesday to start serving his 6 1/2-year racketeering and
fraud sentence.

Ryan and co-defendant Larry Warner, who also was turned down, have
remained free on bond since their April 2006 convictions.

The two men asked Stevens to grant them bail at least until the
nation's high court decides whether to hear their appeal.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions in a
2-1 split decision. Ryan and Warner then asked the appeals court to
reconsider and were turned down by a 6-3 vote.

Judge Michael S. Kanne, who sat on the three-judge panel, dissented
and said the trial had been "riddled with errors."

Ryan was convicted of steering big-money state contracts to Warner and
other friends, using state money and state workers to run his
campaigns and killing an investigation of bribes paid in exchange for
truck driver's licenses.

Ryan's claim that he did not receive a fair trial is primarily based
on chaotic jury deliberations. Two jurors were dismissed after it was
found they had omitted mention of their police records on a
questionnaire.


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