160 men and four women, according to the cover story in yesterday"s Chicago Sun-Times, plus three men who "received reduced sentences that could allow them to be released shortly."
The NAACP released a statement on the commutations, saying in part:
Congratulations to outgoing Illinois Gov. George Ryan for his brave action in pardoning four men forced to confess to crimes they did not commit and commuting to life in prison the sentences of 167 others on Illinois' death row. Ryan was convinced by evidence demonstrating the fallibility of the criminal justice system, where racial prejudice and human error can and do decide who lives or dies.
Still not that interested in domenstic reaction, to be honest. It's following some failry predictable lines, from what little I've read. I'm sure a little digging would bring up prosecutors and victims' families supporting the move, but why introduce needless complications to the narrative?
Almost tried listening to today's Democracy Now! on KFAI (since it's not broadcast locally), but I just reinstalled Debian over the weekend, and haven't got 'round to getting the sound recognized again. Remember, kids, back up the /etc directory before you do that sort of thing. . .
Update: And try checking Debian Help (one of the many fine links at Team Murder) if you don't, as they answer the musical question, "How Do I Setup Sound in Debian?"
Well, it doesn't have to be music you're listening to, but. . . never mind.
Short answer: apt-get install sndconfig.
All I really could say about this when it happened was "Wow."
It's so rare to be impressed with a mainstream politician, a republican, no less, that one is inclined to sit stupefied on the rare moments something of this gravity happens.
So: wow. The Bloody Big Balls for an Insanely Good Cause Award for this year goes to....