Today, DuPage County State's Attorney Joseph E. Birkett dismissed his lawsuit filed in the 18th Judicial Circuit Court that challenged former Governor George Ryan's blanket clemency action that converted the death sentences of nine (9) prisoners that had been convicted of capital murder in DuPage County to life sentences. State's Attorney Birkett's lawsuit raised issues that were additional to the issues previously brought before the Illinois Supreme Court by Attorney General Lisa Madigan, State's Attorney Birkett and nine other State's Attorneys in Illinois. This separate lawsuit brought by State's Attorney Birkett directly challenged the Governor's authority to grant blanket clemency and asserted that former Governor Ryan's action violated the separation of powers provisions in the Illinois Constitution.
Notwithstanding the differences between this lawsuit and the lawsuit brought before the Illinois Supreme Court, the recent decision of the Supreme Court is dispositive of the outcome in this case. In its decision, the Illinois Supreme Court clearly stated that the clemency power is "essentially unreviewable". The Court determined that the clemency power is broad and beyond the review of the Court.
State's Attorney Birkett is disappointed in the outcome of the Supreme Court case,b however he must respect the Supreme Court's decision. The Court did express hope in the final paragraph of its opinion that future Governors would "use the clemency power in its intended manner - to prevent miscarriages of justice in individual cases."
