Ryan argued that the American public is for a fair,...

Ryan argued that the American public is for a fair, honest and just death penalty system, and the study conducted on the Illinois system showed that this was not so. And that also prompted the moratorium in Illinois, recently confirmed by Ryan's successor, Democrat Rod Blagojevich. A move described by Ryan as "good political opportunism as he would not have had to face the issue for 14 years due to the length of the appeals system. However by retaining the moratorium he is sending out a strong message to other US states."
Ryan believes that the way towards more moratoria in the US is through convincing state governors. He also pronounced himself strongly in favour of moratoria worldwide.
"Here today I appeal to all countries worldwide to impose a moratorium on the death penalty and study their system and better it, or better still abolish it. What have we got to loose? Time out, let's study the system and see where that takes us."
Ryan gave his full support to Hands Off Cain's campaign for a worldwide moratorium through a UN resolution, relaunched to the media today by Hands Off Cain honorary president and former EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid Emma Bonino.
"I'd be delighted to appear before the UN to testify for a moratorium, but I don't think the US would invite me!" Ryan said.
Italian Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Mario Baccini highlighted the need to convert strong international public opinion against the death penalty into support for a moratorium on executions in international fora such as the United Nations General Assembly.
"The choice of life over death is a choice that governments should make in realization of their duty to make their citizens' lives better," Baccini said.