Research Paper on:
Last Minute Death Sentence Commutation by Illinois Governor George Ryan

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
The student considering the existence of corruption in the various arms of American government finds much to occupy their minds when considering Chicago. Chicago, it  seems, will forever be associated with organized crime, the Mafia and gangs and numerous other interesting arms of criminal activity. Chicago gained much of its notoriety, of course, during  the early half of the twentieth century during the years of prohibition. It was during that time period when organized crime reached the height of public attention. While  organized crime is still an undeniable element of Chicago, however, there is an even more insidious form of corruption which must be acknowledged when considering Chicago. That is the  corruption notable in the government itself and, more specifically, in those elected to hold office in that government. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate one aspect of  that corruption, the aspect revolving around the governorship of Chicagos recent ex-governor George Ryan and his last minute decision to commute the death sentences of some of Illinois most contemptible  criminals. Governmental corruption in Chicago had its hey day it seems during the administration of recent ex-Governor Ryan. This corruption manifested in  a number of ways including various arms of corruption within the Chicago police department and in the appointment and retention of unqualified and essentially inept defense attorneys. Despite the  many arguments pointing to a flawed justice system in Illinois, however, the student must remember that it is the public who sits on the juries across the nation and makes  calls on a persons guilt or innocence and it is the public, either directly or indirectly, which decides the punishment. In some locations our local governments have elected to