Judge Won't Stop Death Row Clemency Hearings

Clemency hearings for the state's death row inmates will go on as scheduled next week. A Sangamon County judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit to stop the hearings filed by Attorney General Jim Ryan. The judge did not explain why he threw out the suit.

The attorney general tried to block the clemency hearings by the State Prisoner Review Board. Jim Ryan claims the procedures will violate the rights of crime victims, since the board only plans to allot 15 minutes on each case it hears. Nearly all of the state's 160 prisoners on death row filed requests for clemency earlier this year.

After next week's hearing, the Prisoner Review Board will forward its recommendations to Gov. George Ryan, who is expected to act on the clemency requests before he leaves office in January. The hearings are scheduled to begin Tuesday.