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lanuary IS. 2003
P olice
1
Illinois Governor Spars Lives of 156 Inmates
EQUALITY
FREEDOM
D IG N IT Y
LIFE
MLK DAY BLOOD DRIVE
JA N U A R Y 2 0 . 2 0 0 3
UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND - CHILES CENTER
■poneorMl by Kapp« Alpha Pal and Jsffisrson High Schoo!
KL30 PM - 8 :0 0 PM. CAU 5 0 3 /5 2 8 -0 0 0 8 TO fitOM-UP
American
Red Cross
( A P) — C alling the death pen­
alty process “as cap ricio u s and
arbitrary as who gets hit by a bolt o f
lightning," G ov. G eorge R yan an ­
nounced Saturday he w as clearing
Illinois* death row by com m uting
the sentences o f all 156 inm ates, a
m ove unprecedented in scale in
IL'S, history.
R y an 's action, ju s t tw o days
before he leaves office, drew im m e­
diate angry reaction from prosecu­
tors, the incom ing g overnor and
relatives o f som e o f the victim s.
Ryan said he sym pathized with
the fam ilies o f the m en, w om en and
children w ho had been m urdered,
but he felt he had to act.
“1 am not prepared to take the
risk that we m ay ex ecute an inno­
cent person,” he w rote in an o v er­
night letter to the v ictim s’ fam ilies
w arning them o f w hat he planned.
"O u r capital system is haunted
by the dem on o f erro r — error in
determ ining guilt, and erro r in d e­
term ining w ho am ong the guilty
d eserves to d ie,” R yan said. “W hat
effect w as race having? W hat ef-
feet w as poverty having?
"B ecause o f all these rea­
sons, today I am com m uting
the sentences o f all death row
inm ates.”
Ryan had halted al I ex ecu ­
tions in the state nearly three
years earlier alter courts found
that 13 Illinois death row in­
m ates had been w rongly co n ­
victed since capital punish­
m ent resum ed in 1977 — a
Our capital system is haunted by
the demon o f error — error in
determining guilt, and error in
determining who among the guilty
deserves to die, — Illinois G ov. G eorge R yan 1
period w hen 12 other inm ates were
executed.
He said studies conducted since
that m oratorium w as issued had
(A P) — A C lackam as County
sh e riff s deputy w ho was shot in the
face last week rem ained in critical
condition M onday after undergo­
ing surgery to reduce swelling in his
brain, hospital officials said.
Sgt. Damon Coates underw ent
the surgery Saturday and was taking
medication to prevent further sw ell­
ing, according to a nursing supervi­
sor.
Nick Teixeira, a Rex Putnam High
97204
Assault Suspect Saught
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Industrial Portland, Old Town, Overlook, Pearl District, Piedmont, Portland
Community College-Cascade Campus, Portland Slate University, Portsmouth, Sabin
west o f N.E. 24th Avenue, St. Johns, Sullivan's Gulch west o f N.E. 20th Avenue,
Sunnyside west o f N.E. 20th Avenue, University o f Portland, University Park,
Vernon, and Woodlawn.
.
S a n g Thanh N gu yen
P o rtla n d P o lice, in co o p e ra tio n
w ith C rim e S to p p e rs, are ask in g for
y o u r h elp in lo catin g and ap p reh en d ­
ing S ang T h an h N g u y en . A felo n y
arrest w arrant, charging N guyen with
A ssau lt in the F irst D egree, is on file
in M u ltn o m ah C o u n ty . T he w arran t
s te m s fro m an in c id e n t w h e re
N g u y en a n d h is b ro th e r, w ho is al-
re a dy in c u sto d y , rep o rte d ly beat a
know n a c q u a in ta n c e , c au sin g the
(A P ) — D e tectiv es seek in g
c lu es in the k illin g o f an 18-year-
o ld w o m a n h av e e n d e d th e ir
search o f K elley P o in t P ark and
ask ed fo r pu b lic h elp in fin d in g a
g reen “A rm y ty p e ” d u ffel bag
Police Seek
New Evidence
Against Cramer
Stay, live wire. Stay!
L ive p o w e r lines alm o st a lw a y s slay on
p o w e r p o le s w h e re th e y b elo n g , d e liv e rin g
th e p o w e r w e d e p e n d u p o n a n d expect. B ut
so m e tim e s th e w eath er, trees o r accid en ts
in terfe re a n d k n o ck th em d o w n . T h a t's
w h e n it g e ts d a n g e ro u s . A d o w n e d line
can lo o k h a rm le ss, b u t it can still b e a live
w ire - p o w e rfu l e n o u g h to kill a n d ev en
e n e rg iz e th e g ro u n d a ro u n d it. P lease
re m e m b e r th e s e w o rd s o f c a u tio n :
■ N ev er to u ch o r go n e a r a fallen p o w er line.
■ D o n o t to u c h a n y th in g o n w h ich th e w ire
is restin g .
■ U se e x trem e ca u tio n And ex p lain th e
d a n g e r to y o u r ch ild ren .
■ If y o u see a d o w n e d line, call u s
im m ed iately , a n d w e 'll ta k e care of it.
O r call 911.
Y our safety m a tte rs to us.
th at c o u ld c o n ta in ev id e n c e .
P o lic e said th e b ag lik e ly w as
t h r o w n i n t o th e C o l u m b i a
S lo u g h a n d c a r r ie d in to e ith e r
th e C o lu m b ia R i v e r o r th e
W illa m e tte R iv er.
C a sso n d ra B row n, the d a u g h ­
ter o f a P o rt o f P o rtla n d p o lice
o fficer, has been m issin g sin ce
Jan. 5. P o lice have a rre ste d h e r
fo rm er b o y frie n d , 1 8 -y ear-o ld
B e n ja m in K a rl C r a m e r , a n d
ch arg ed him w ith m u rd er.
“ W e b eliev e the bag co n ta in s
e v id en c e in the in v e s tig a tio n ,”
said Sgt. Brian S chm autz, a police
s p o k e s m a n , w h o d e c lin e d to
e la b o ra te .”
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A
victim severe brain and head traum a.
S a n g T h a n h N g u y e n is a 2 5 -
y e a r o ld A s ia n m a le w ith a d a te o f
b ir th o f Ja n . 14, 1977. N g u y e n is
5 ’2” tall and w eig h s a p p ro x im a te ly
110 p o u n d s . N g u y e n m a y be s ta y ­
in g in S o u th e a s t, o r d e e p S o u th ­
e a s t P o rtla n d , b u t h is p a r e n ts liv e
in N o rth e a s t P o rtla n d a n d it is
b e lie v e d he h a s b e e n c o m in g an d
g o in g fro m th e re .
Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward o f up to $1,000for information, reported to Crime Stoppers,
that leads to an arrest in this case, or any unsolved felony crime, any you need not give your name. Call
Crime Stoppers at 503-823-HELP.
safety matters
A
only raised m ore questions about
the how the death penalty w as im ­
posed. H e cited problem s w ith tri­
als, sentencing, the appeals pro-
School freshm an, allegedly shot pital. He was visited briefly
Coates with a high-caliber handgun Sunday morning by his par­
on Thursday as Coates and three ents and grandparents, the
partners tried to take him from his first time he’s been allowed to
home for a mental evaluation.
see them since the shooting.
A nother officer returned fire, hit­
Teixeira requested to see
ting Teixeira in the chest.
them , said D etective Jim
D eputies arrested T eixeira on Stro vink, a Clackamas County
charges o f attem pted aggravated sh eriff s office spokesman.
m urder and first-degree assault.
Teixeira is officially in police
Teixeira was in fair condition Mon­ custody and is under police
day at D oem becherC hildren’s H os­ guard.
th an th e fin an cin g !
W IL L A M E T T E
cess and the state’s “spectacular
failure” to reform the system .
“ B ecause the Illinois death p en ­
alty system is arbitrary and capri­
cious — and therefore im m oral— I
no longer shall tinker w ith the m a­
chinery o f death ,” he said.
«
A ll but three o f the sentences
w ill go to life in prison w ithout the
possibility o f parole.
c
T he R epublican governor a n ­
nounced outright pardons for four
o th er men on death row Friday.
H e said those m en w ere tortured
into confessing by C hicag o police.
Shooting Puts Deputy in Critical Condition
I t ’s o ften e a s ie r
to p ick o u t th e
v e h ic le . . .
Federal Credit Union
Death row inmates
Madison Hobley (clock­
wise from upper left),
Stanley Howard, Leroy
Orange and Aaron
Patterson, were par­
doned Friday by Illinois
Gov. George Ryan who
said the men were
tortured into confessing
by Chicago police.
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nuns
1888-247 8282
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