Aaron Patterson, an Illinois death row inmate with...

Aaron Patterson, an Illinois death row inmate with a strong claim of innocence went on hunger strike to ask Illinois Governor George Ryan for a pardon, rather than a commutation of his death sentence. Governor Ryan ordered a review of the state's death penalty system after 13 inmates were found to have been wrongfully convicted, and is now considering clemency for over 140 inmates.
The US-based Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (CUADP) said Aaron Patterson began a hunger strike at 3pm, Thursday Dec. 12, in an effort to not get lost in the bigger story of the commutations.
CUADP said Patterson is one of the Illinois death row prisoners with a strong claim of innocence -- he is one of the "Death Row Ten" prisoners put on death row after confessing while being tortured by Chicago police detective John Burge, who was fired because of his habit of torturing suspects.
"Aaron does not want a commutation from Governor Ryan - he wants a pardon. At the very least he should have a new trial. Why would an innocent person be satisfied with life imprisonment instead of death?" CUADP Director Abraham J. Bonowitz said in a statement sent to Hands Off Cain. "Much has been in the news lately about efforts to convince Illinois Governor Ryan to grant a blanket commutation to all of the prisoners on Illinois death row. However, it appears that the issue of actually innocent people still on Illinois death row has been missed."
There is not necessarily an inconsistency between the efforts to obtain blanket commutation and the simultaneous efforts to secure the actual release of those, like Aaron, who can already make compelling showings of innocence, CUADP said.
CUADP called for appeals to Governor Ryan to urge him to grant commutations to all death row prisoners where there is no doubt about their guilt, but to consider alternatives to commutation in cases where the prisoner may in fact be innocent. "Such alternatives could include a pardon, or at the very least should leave the door open for such prisoners to have their innocence claim fully evaluated in open court," CUADP said.
Governor Ryan indicated recently that his decision will not likely be announced before the first of the year. His term ends on January 13.