No. Ryan is a crook who did the right thing in this case.
Talk Left had this to say:
Governor George Ryan is a courageous hero. Saving the life of an innocent man is far more profound an act of justice than any act of bribery or political misconduct in office can be considered an act of injustice. We don’t care what happened with taxes and driver’s licenses in Illinois. We care about saving the lives of these innocent and wrongfully convicted men.
But what about when that political misconduct is an attack on the integrity of the system itself? Ryan wasn’t just corrupt, he has tried to subvert the legal system. To applaud him as a hero for attempting to fix the legal system while he is systematically abusing it to protect himself is strange to say the least.
Ryan could end the investigation now by coming clean on what happened and what he knew. He refuses to and refuses to accept any responsibility for the scandal. He took action today and should get credit for it. There is nothing heroic in the action though because there is no risk to him. Where he could take on risk to him, he has systematically avoided taking any responsibility. By refusing to obey the law, and using his office for personal political gain, at least nine people lost their lives. When he is on the line, he is not nearly as willing to take responsibility.
The level of cynicism it requires to treat him as a great hero is unhealthy for democracy. To pretend that a man who subverted the normal workings of democracy for personal gain and attempted to subvert the legal system’s investigation has not done great damage to the people of the State of Illinois is misguided.